It's been a long long while. Sorry. I've been really busy since my last post... almost a month ago... *gasp*!
Dec 1st and 2nd saw us (the girls in the family) being really really involved in Stacey's ballet school's dance concert. Since both girls were involved (Stace in the matinee shows on both days and Shannon in the evening shows on both days) and I was really busy backstage, helping to coordinate moms and looking after 35 little ones aged 4+ to 7+... it was almost nightmarish. To make things worse... the kiddos started to pass around some kind of virus, so I started to have many sickies on my hands... which meant meeting them later and having them take part and then sending them out to meet their parents almost immediately after the show.
But all in all, it was great fun. I had a great time, and was even roped in to dance during the grand finale... so funny. The Coordinating Moms got roped in, much to the delight of the kiddies... and I had a rolicking good time!
After the concert ended, I started an Orton-Gillingham course so as to help Stacey with her dyslexia. It cost a bomb ($3K) to attend for two weeks... 80 hours worth of training... but well worth the time, effort and money. I've learnt so much over the last two weeks... it's been so great, to be able to enlighten my own girl and help her along. It just builds her up so much in terms of self-esteem, knowing that she needn't struggle and fail so much... and now she actually volunteers to read during bedtime stories, and takes great pride in being able to read her books. It's such a marvellous thing! So I'm all prepared now, and will start her OG lessons twice weekly when school begins.
It's going to be an interesting week... preparing for school and all that that entails - wrapping books, packing bags, washing and ironing uniforms etc. In the midst of all that, I have to organise the house to prepare for two primary school kids and homework and all that stuff, besides entertaining and teaching the littlest one who will now only attend 3 hrs of school each day.
In the midst of all that, we still have to prepare for the renovations (for which we still have not signed the contract) and I still have to sort through all our junk and either start packing or throwing things out. Heh. And selling things away! yes! I shall have to do that too! Argh!
So it's going to be an exciting year ahead... busy, and I hope, very fulfilling.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
Updates on Shannon
Shannon turned 3 on the 19th... the Monday that just passed. Wow. Again, time flies. Where has all that time gone?
Today she had her violin lesson again. She's moved on to the 2nd Variation of Twinkle now... and she's learning a new one. The 1st variation she's sort of mastered, except that she's still got remnants of her negative phase, and so she needs a great deal of encouragement and prodding before she will play right through to the end of the song.
She seems to be quite happy with doing something new. Last week she learnt to sing the song, and this week, she learnt to bow the rhythm on her shoulder which she was rather tickled by, and I've also got to get her to go through the motions with her string fingers. Hopefully she'll be keen to practise all these. Heh. And to make matters worse, I'll not be able to take her for lessons during the next 3 weeks, afterwhich, there'll be a term break for 2 weeks. So I won't be seeing her violin teacher for the rest of the year, even though she'll be seeing her for 3 more lessons for this year.
Her teacher continues to be amazed by what she can do. Just today, she was telling me (before she tried it out on her) that one thing she'd eventually have to learn was to place her fingers on the string all at once, instead of doing the 1-2-3 placement that she does now. So she said, we'd have to get her eventually to try 1-2&3 which would then lead to her placing 1&2&3 all at once. So we got her to try, and apparently, she could do it, sort of... just that her placing wasn't very accurately on the "A" string... but motor skills wise, she could. And her teacher was pleased and surprised that she could do that. So yay.
She'll be in N2 next year. At her age, her sister started phonics... in the middle of the year... so I'm wondering how I can get her to start on phonics without going to class for it. I'm probably going to get her started on the phonics online thing which Stace started on but stopped due to the commencement of her OG classes. Hopefully I can get her reading properly by the end of 2008. I hope. Ugh, which means I'll have to do something about my mom's super slow DIALUP connection for the internet at her place.... IF we do in the end decide to stay there...
*sidenote to dad (who is reading this, I'm sure) - I haven't asked you formally yet because we haven't even signed the contract... so we will ask you properly when we have decided exactly when we are going to reno the house... OK?
back to Shannon...
So next year, other than having 3 hours of school a day, and violin and berries... she doesn't have much else happening yet. She's too young for ballet, and too young for Music (with Yamaha, though I'm not sure I'm sending her for that either... maybe I just might get her a regular piano teacher and have her learn the piano straightaway). I'll probably have to ask her violin teacher what her recommendations are for her... not too sure whether it's a preferred thing that violinists also play the piano... she does seem quite interested in the keyboard, and she also seems to be keen on dancing... so we'll see. Ballet commences for her in K1 only, so that's that.
I'll probably pick up on the reading of Mandarin and English more for her, in the time that she spends with me in the mornings before Zach and Stace return from school. I don't want her to lose that, but hope that she will make great progress and might even be able to inspire her siblings to greater mother tongue heights... hopefully.
I'm also hoping to pick up and continue on swimming for all three of them... it's just a matter of where, when and with whom. I don't know about that one. Seriously.
And I'm afraid that as I have to focus on Z and St for their school stuff, I'll leave Sh to her own devices, and then she'll miss out on progressing as much as she can... but I guess I'll just have to organise my time better and make sure that they are all helping each other and being helped at the same time. Sigh.
Today she had her violin lesson again. She's moved on to the 2nd Variation of Twinkle now... and she's learning a new one. The 1st variation she's sort of mastered, except that she's still got remnants of her negative phase, and so she needs a great deal of encouragement and prodding before she will play right through to the end of the song.
She seems to be quite happy with doing something new. Last week she learnt to sing the song, and this week, she learnt to bow the rhythm on her shoulder which she was rather tickled by, and I've also got to get her to go through the motions with her string fingers. Hopefully she'll be keen to practise all these. Heh. And to make matters worse, I'll not be able to take her for lessons during the next 3 weeks, afterwhich, there'll be a term break for 2 weeks. So I won't be seeing her violin teacher for the rest of the year, even though she'll be seeing her for 3 more lessons for this year.
Her teacher continues to be amazed by what she can do. Just today, she was telling me (before she tried it out on her) that one thing she'd eventually have to learn was to place her fingers on the string all at once, instead of doing the 1-2-3 placement that she does now. So she said, we'd have to get her eventually to try 1-2&3 which would then lead to her placing 1&2&3 all at once. So we got her to try, and apparently, she could do it, sort of... just that her placing wasn't very accurately on the "A" string... but motor skills wise, she could. And her teacher was pleased and surprised that she could do that. So yay.
She'll be in N2 next year. At her age, her sister started phonics... in the middle of the year... so I'm wondering how I can get her to start on phonics without going to class for it. I'm probably going to get her started on the phonics online thing which Stace started on but stopped due to the commencement of her OG classes. Hopefully I can get her reading properly by the end of 2008. I hope. Ugh, which means I'll have to do something about my mom's super slow DIALUP connection for the internet at her place.... IF we do in the end decide to stay there...
*sidenote to dad (who is reading this, I'm sure) - I haven't asked you formally yet because we haven't even signed the contract... so we will ask you properly when we have decided exactly when we are going to reno the house... OK?
back to Shannon...
So next year, other than having 3 hours of school a day, and violin and berries... she doesn't have much else happening yet. She's too young for ballet, and too young for Music (with Yamaha, though I'm not sure I'm sending her for that either... maybe I just might get her a regular piano teacher and have her learn the piano straightaway). I'll probably have to ask her violin teacher what her recommendations are for her... not too sure whether it's a preferred thing that violinists also play the piano... she does seem quite interested in the keyboard, and she also seems to be keen on dancing... so we'll see. Ballet commences for her in K1 only, so that's that.
I'll probably pick up on the reading of Mandarin and English more for her, in the time that she spends with me in the mornings before Zach and Stace return from school. I don't want her to lose that, but hope that she will make great progress and might even be able to inspire her siblings to greater mother tongue heights... hopefully.
I'm also hoping to pick up and continue on swimming for all three of them... it's just a matter of where, when and with whom. I don't know about that one. Seriously.
And I'm afraid that as I have to focus on Z and St for their school stuff, I'll leave Sh to her own devices, and then she'll miss out on progressing as much as she can... but I guess I'll just have to organise my time better and make sure that they are all helping each other and being helped at the same time. Sigh.
Updates on Stacey
I can't believe my big girl is now 6. Wow. Time flies.
Lots of changes in the coming year... the biggest being Primary 1 of course. We've bought her books, her uniform and the rest of the stuff that comes with going to P1. The uniform is the cutest thing... will definitely be posting pics in time... so recognisable. But she won't be getting her proper name tag for a month... so that will take a while.
She's also stopping music. The last term has been a tremendous struggle for her. The teacher has been going at a blistering pace. This particular class seems to be rather tone-deaf... during solfege singing, most, if not all, are singing flat... and it seems they don't hear it and can't help it. There are only 6 kids in the class left... and now that Stacey is pulling out, there will be but 5. Ah well. Hopefully the teacher doesn't freak out on learning she's quitting. She's actually only got one more term, until March, to go. However, at the end of that term, she's supposed to sit for an exam that is called a "survey" which means that I will have to get her to seriously practise everything... and I know that she will be lacking in several areas, and I'm not too keen on pushing her in an area where she has little interest. Right now, she's only doing it because it's a matter of routine and she's all ready to just "complete" it and quit. So I thought since she's going to P1 in Jan, why not let her stop earlier so that she can concentrate on settling down. Besides, she will be busy with Ballet examination preparation in the first 3 months of 2008, and that's additional stuff already.
The OG (Orton-Gillingham) classes for her dyslexia intervention has been quite helpful and I feel that she has made much progress in her work already. It's wonderful that things are getting better, and I feel that she won't struggle quite as much initially, which will allow her to settle in a little more quickly probably.
On a sidenote: I'm looking forward to attending the OG training course this December, and hopefully, once I'm done, I'll be able to help her with it and take over from FF, since we think we probably will have a hard time finding a slot for her amidst Stacey's new schedule and FF's piano teaching.
We're stopping swimming for both Stace and Zach too. The teacher has been rather haphazard in his meeting us for class, and it seems like his enthusiasm for teaching has been waning somewhat. Given the horrendous weather and their chicken pox (which resulted in them being banned from the pool for a month), I took the opportunity to stop their lessons completely.
To replace that (OK, it wasn't meant as a replacement, but since their Tuesday afternoons are now free, they can have something else during that time) I have arranged for Chinese tuition for both of them so that they can keep up with Mandarin lessons in school. They already attend Berries for enrichment, but because they are not doing work at their level at Berries (they were pushed one level down each), they cannot keep up with school work, and that translates to bad report cards... so I've had to hire a tutor for them. Now hopefully the tutor will be able to find a slot for them.
With all that she has to do in mind, I'm also asking for the twice a week Maths lessons to be collapsed into once a week, where she'll tackle two books at a time, as opposed to one. Zach will continue with twice a week simply because it'll be beyond him to manage more than one book at a time without staying there for anything less than one-and-a-half hours... so we're giving it a try and hoping that it'll work.
This means that overall, she will have fewer days of activities, and that will give her some much needed play time during the week. So it will be ballet on Mondays, berries on Thursdays, Maths on Saturday mornings, ballet coaching on Saturday evenings with an additional Chinese tuition on a yet to be determined day... this is opposed to having something on every single day of the week except on Sunday which is put aside for church and going to MIL's for dinner and the likes. I hope she appreciates how I'm clearing up time for her... Oops, I forgot that I will have to put aside OG time for her twice a week after I finish my course, so that will take time too. Yah, that.
Lots of changes in the coming year... the biggest being Primary 1 of course. We've bought her books, her uniform and the rest of the stuff that comes with going to P1. The uniform is the cutest thing... will definitely be posting pics in time... so recognisable. But she won't be getting her proper name tag for a month... so that will take a while.
She's also stopping music. The last term has been a tremendous struggle for her. The teacher has been going at a blistering pace. This particular class seems to be rather tone-deaf... during solfege singing, most, if not all, are singing flat... and it seems they don't hear it and can't help it. There are only 6 kids in the class left... and now that Stacey is pulling out, there will be but 5. Ah well. Hopefully the teacher doesn't freak out on learning she's quitting. She's actually only got one more term, until March, to go. However, at the end of that term, she's supposed to sit for an exam that is called a "survey" which means that I will have to get her to seriously practise everything... and I know that she will be lacking in several areas, and I'm not too keen on pushing her in an area where she has little interest. Right now, she's only doing it because it's a matter of routine and she's all ready to just "complete" it and quit. So I thought since she's going to P1 in Jan, why not let her stop earlier so that she can concentrate on settling down. Besides, she will be busy with Ballet examination preparation in the first 3 months of 2008, and that's additional stuff already.
The OG (Orton-Gillingham) classes for her dyslexia intervention has been quite helpful and I feel that she has made much progress in her work already. It's wonderful that things are getting better, and I feel that she won't struggle quite as much initially, which will allow her to settle in a little more quickly probably.
On a sidenote: I'm looking forward to attending the OG training course this December, and hopefully, once I'm done, I'll be able to help her with it and take over from FF, since we think we probably will have a hard time finding a slot for her amidst Stacey's new schedule and FF's piano teaching.
We're stopping swimming for both Stace and Zach too. The teacher has been rather haphazard in his meeting us for class, and it seems like his enthusiasm for teaching has been waning somewhat. Given the horrendous weather and their chicken pox (which resulted in them being banned from the pool for a month), I took the opportunity to stop their lessons completely.
To replace that (OK, it wasn't meant as a replacement, but since their Tuesday afternoons are now free, they can have something else during that time) I have arranged for Chinese tuition for both of them so that they can keep up with Mandarin lessons in school. They already attend Berries for enrichment, but because they are not doing work at their level at Berries (they were pushed one level down each), they cannot keep up with school work, and that translates to bad report cards... so I've had to hire a tutor for them. Now hopefully the tutor will be able to find a slot for them.
With all that she has to do in mind, I'm also asking for the twice a week Maths lessons to be collapsed into once a week, where she'll tackle two books at a time, as opposed to one. Zach will continue with twice a week simply because it'll be beyond him to manage more than one book at a time without staying there for anything less than one-and-a-half hours... so we're giving it a try and hoping that it'll work.
This means that overall, she will have fewer days of activities, and that will give her some much needed play time during the week. So it will be ballet on Mondays, berries on Thursdays, Maths on Saturday mornings, ballet coaching on Saturday evenings with an additional Chinese tuition on a yet to be determined day... this is opposed to having something on every single day of the week except on Sunday which is put aside for church and going to MIL's for dinner and the likes. I hope she appreciates how I'm clearing up time for her... Oops, I forgot that I will have to put aside OG time for her twice a week after I finish my course, so that will take time too. Yah, that.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Tamagotchi...
Was at a first-month bash on Sunday, and heard a family talking about their 7yo's latest toy - the Tamagotchi Version 4. Apparently, this one is many steps up from the one we used to play with way way back when we were kids (by we I mean those born in the 70's in Singapore lah).
So I got itchy about getting one for the kids. At Toys R Us, I ended up with a $20 voucher, so I bought both of the older kids a Digital Littlest Pet Shop Pet. $2 cheaper than a Tamagotchi version 4 and cuter. But it's a little different, in that it doesn't seem to get sick, and you just go from town to town to play different games and locate 10 lost pets. Anyways...
So I was itching to get a Tamagotch for myself... a Version 4. Then today, I renewed my Chicky Club Membership, and got a Tamagotchi Chicky Club Version... and it's the version we are well familiar with. So as I sit and type, I have my Tamagotch version nothing sitting round my neck on the coolest zipper type thingy... and quite happy that I didn't have to spend anything more than $10, which got me a bag, a water bottle and a tamagotchi version nothing. Heh. Yay, fun.
So I got itchy about getting one for the kids. At Toys R Us, I ended up with a $20 voucher, so I bought both of the older kids a Digital Littlest Pet Shop Pet. $2 cheaper than a Tamagotchi version 4 and cuter. But it's a little different, in that it doesn't seem to get sick, and you just go from town to town to play different games and locate 10 lost pets. Anyways...
So I was itching to get a Tamagotch for myself... a Version 4. Then today, I renewed my Chicky Club Membership, and got a Tamagotchi Chicky Club Version... and it's the version we are well familiar with. So as I sit and type, I have my Tamagotch version nothing sitting round my neck on the coolest zipper type thingy... and quite happy that I didn't have to spend anything more than $10, which got me a bag, a water bottle and a tamagotchi version nothing. Heh. Yay, fun.
Aye Carumba!
How do you spell that??? According to my son, that is Spanish. It's a sort of exclamation. And tonight, he said... do you know the what is the English of "Aye Carumba!"?...
... Ai Yo Yo!!
er, ok.
... Ai Yo Yo!!
er, ok.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Birthday Treat Part 2
We went out to have a mini-celebration on Nov 13th... after Stacey had her luncheon celebration at Fish & Co and baptised their floor with their (semi-digested) ice-cream and cotton candy.
Hubby ordered a chocolate fondue from Swensen's... and here are the children, thoroughly enjoying themselves....
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Handsome Young Man...
Zach's hair has gotten very long of late... no time to take him to the barber... so the other day, after his bath, I combed his hair for fun (it's usually too short to comb) and gave him a big boy side parting... and this was the result... handsome or not?!
Birthday Cupcakes
We went to collect the birthday cupcakes I ordered from Mong today... done up in the ballerina & violin & princess theme... beautiful aren't they? The girls were so thrilled with their cupcakes... and I'm looking forward to eating them tomorrow!!! heh heh.
Awesome Sights
On two separate days, we saw the most magnificent rainbows in the sky... The first pic was taken while travelling on the ECP towards Marine Parade (no, I wasn't the one driving... duh!) and the other three while we stopped at a traffic light in Tampines.
Rainbows never cease to amaze me and remind me of God's wonderful promises. *contented sigh*
Birthday Treat Part 1
At Fish & Co. where she got free ice-cream and cotton candy... following which she promptly hurled all over Fish & Co. Yucks. The crew was very nice about cleaning up though, and I thought that was really sweet.
Poxed Man...
Old Friends' Kids
From picture left, we have L's two little ones, then S's 3 little ones, then mine... the kids all had a great time that night... sadly, both L and S's other halves couldn't make it that night. J was also there with her Significant Other, and Hubby and I were there too, of course.
Stacey's Graduation Concert
This was held way back in September this year. She was most enthusiastic in her item, and was the only one jumping around with much fervour. She really enjoyed being in the limelight that day. She's a performer, my little Stacey....
Silly Closeups
Can you identify who's who?
Answer: Column 1 = Shannon. Column 2 = Zach. Column 3 = Stacey. LOL.
Listen to my Heart...
A sweet moment captured of Shannon pressing close to korkor because she's trying to hear his heart beating.... *awwwwwwwwwwwwww*
Shannon's Bow Hold
Check this out. The top two pics show the teacher demonstrating during the first few lessons how to hold a bow. The bottom two pics are of Shannon holding the bow just a few days back. She's come a long way. Doesn't that bow hold look great??!! *proud mommy beam*
Updates on Zach
Zach came home with his first ever Report Book on Wednesday... the same day his school conducted the Meet The Parents Session. According to one of the mothers (mother of his classmate), the teacher only wanted to see 3 parents of the 29 boys in his class. Er, OK. I guess I was in part relieved that she didn't want to see me, though I would have loved to find out more. Still...
So Zach's report book basically had relatively expected results. English and Maths saw him scoring in Band 2 (between 75 and 84), and according to the info given on the back of the slip, his fell almost spot on on the average mark scored by his class - not the median mind you, just the average... so it tells me that his marks are average. OK.
But his Mandarin... oh, his mandarin... I shouldn't even say his mandarin... cos he doesn't possess much of it, if his results are anything to go by. He failed rather sadly for mandarin... I never even saw marks like that in my entire school life (for exams lah... for tests got lah).
So on drawing board now are plans to engage a private tutor for Chinese for both Zach and Stacey (while still continuing with lessons at Berries, where they currently have their Chinese enrichment). Berries is more for exposure, while the tutor is to help them cope and keep up with school work and demands of school. No choice. Otherwise, they'll end up like daddy, failing because of Chinese.
Thankfully he managed an aggregate percentage pass... his Maths and English were good enough to pull his over percentage to more than 60%, so that was wonderful. But this can't go on.
So right now, he's doing fairly well in Music, having gone on to the JXC course in Yamaha. He shows a fair bit of inclination towards the keyboard, and has a good ear for notes. He still can't read music, mostly because I haven't exactly been diligent about teaching him... so he finds his place on the keyboard by bashing on it with his hands until he hears, in the mish mash of notes he pounded out, a set of notes that sound right. And from there, he figures out where his fingers go and starts to play his music, purely based on a combination of hearing and memory. So now I'm wondering if he'll do better with one-on-one lessons with a private piano teacher, or if he should stay on in the big group that he's with.
He's got pretty good reports from his school teacher... quite the teacher's pet apparently. He's polite and a "good boy" and he doesn't create problems for his teachers, so I'm pleased. The work could be better, but he's careless and still hasn't quite got the hang of what exams (and school, for that matter) is all about. As far as he is concerned, school is for going to so that you can hang out with friends, muck around during recess and have time away from family with money in your wallet... and the studying bit... well, that's just a slight inconvenience that comes along with the aforementioned privileges. Oh, of course, you also get to buy "country erasers" without first having to ask permission, and that's wonderful!!!
He's such a big boy now... sigh.
So Zach's report book basically had relatively expected results. English and Maths saw him scoring in Band 2 (between 75 and 84), and according to the info given on the back of the slip, his fell almost spot on on the average mark scored by his class - not the median mind you, just the average... so it tells me that his marks are average. OK.
But his Mandarin... oh, his mandarin... I shouldn't even say his mandarin... cos he doesn't possess much of it, if his results are anything to go by. He failed rather sadly for mandarin... I never even saw marks like that in my entire school life (for exams lah... for tests got lah).
So on drawing board now are plans to engage a private tutor for Chinese for both Zach and Stacey (while still continuing with lessons at Berries, where they currently have their Chinese enrichment). Berries is more for exposure, while the tutor is to help them cope and keep up with school work and demands of school. No choice. Otherwise, they'll end up like daddy, failing because of Chinese.
Thankfully he managed an aggregate percentage pass... his Maths and English were good enough to pull his over percentage to more than 60%, so that was wonderful. But this can't go on.
So right now, he's doing fairly well in Music, having gone on to the JXC course in Yamaha. He shows a fair bit of inclination towards the keyboard, and has a good ear for notes. He still can't read music, mostly because I haven't exactly been diligent about teaching him... so he finds his place on the keyboard by bashing on it with his hands until he hears, in the mish mash of notes he pounded out, a set of notes that sound right. And from there, he figures out where his fingers go and starts to play his music, purely based on a combination of hearing and memory. So now I'm wondering if he'll do better with one-on-one lessons with a private piano teacher, or if he should stay on in the big group that he's with.
He's got pretty good reports from his school teacher... quite the teacher's pet apparently. He's polite and a "good boy" and he doesn't create problems for his teachers, so I'm pleased. The work could be better, but he's careless and still hasn't quite got the hang of what exams (and school, for that matter) is all about. As far as he is concerned, school is for going to so that you can hang out with friends, muck around during recess and have time away from family with money in your wallet... and the studying bit... well, that's just a slight inconvenience that comes along with the aforementioned privileges. Oh, of course, you also get to buy "country erasers" without first having to ask permission, and that's wonderful!!!
He's such a big boy now... sigh.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Discoveries..
I have learnt quite a bit about chicken pox lately... hmm, I wonder why??!! LOL...
Anywayz... basically, it's to do with the cost of medication and how different docs prescribe and treat things differently.
Shannon, first to be poxed amongst the kids, got the following:
3 blister packs of 5 pills - 3/4 pill x 4 times a day x 5 days = 15 pills
1 bottle of 60ml anti itch syrup
1 little container of cream
+ consultation = $45
Zach, 2nd to consult the doc got the following:
4 blister packs of 5 pills - 1pill x 4 times x 5 days = 20 pills
1 bottle of 60ml anti itch syrup
1 little container of cream (because I threw the leftover from Shannon's bout away)
+ consultation = $46
Stacey, 3rd to consult, and in the same afternoon got the following:
4 blister packs of 5 pills - 1 pill x 4 times x 5 days = 20 pills
No syrup (share with korkor)
No cream
+ consultation = $35
Subsequently, the 60ml bottle to be shared proved insufficient, so I went to the doc's and bought a 90ml bottle for the two to continue sharing = $6.
For the life of me, I couldn't figure out the breakdown... unless the doc gave some kind of discount in the subsequent consultations (he's nice that way). He's great... he doesn't charge me a single cent when I go to him as a follow up just to get an MC or letter (needed by school) to declare the child fit for school. :)
Then after talking to my friends, I realise that my doc is a nice man. Very patient, and helps you save money where possible.
My friend has two kids, aged 6 and 2, and both recently had chicken pox too. She told me that her children took syrup chicken pox meds (as opposed to the pills my kids took), which cost her $100 a bottle... and her older child needed TWO bottles, while her younger one needed just one. Still... and that didn't include the anti-itch and the cream yet... and definitely not the consultation. My doc did mention that there was syrup available, but he told me that it cost $90 a bottle, and that even Shannon, as well as the biggies would need two bottles each. That alone would have set us back by $540!!! Good grief!
My SIL also mentioned that her doc had said that chicken pox vaccination would cost $100. My doc had, in the past, when I had enquired, quoted only $80.
So all in all, I think my doc is heaven-sent... he's just a regular GP, but a wonderful man with 3 kids himself... his clinic is usually crowded, and a far cry from the clinic just a few doors down which is usually empty. I used to go there, but found the doctor wanting, so moved to this fella and stuck with him ever since. Thank God for a great family doctor!!!
Anywayz... basically, it's to do with the cost of medication and how different docs prescribe and treat things differently.
Shannon, first to be poxed amongst the kids, got the following:
3 blister packs of 5 pills - 3/4 pill x 4 times a day x 5 days = 15 pills
1 bottle of 60ml anti itch syrup
1 little container of cream
+ consultation = $45
Zach, 2nd to consult the doc got the following:
4 blister packs of 5 pills - 1pill x 4 times x 5 days = 20 pills
1 bottle of 60ml anti itch syrup
1 little container of cream (because I threw the leftover from Shannon's bout away)
+ consultation = $46
Stacey, 3rd to consult, and in the same afternoon got the following:
4 blister packs of 5 pills - 1 pill x 4 times x 5 days = 20 pills
No syrup (share with korkor)
No cream
+ consultation = $35
Subsequently, the 60ml bottle to be shared proved insufficient, so I went to the doc's and bought a 90ml bottle for the two to continue sharing = $6.
For the life of me, I couldn't figure out the breakdown... unless the doc gave some kind of discount in the subsequent consultations (he's nice that way). He's great... he doesn't charge me a single cent when I go to him as a follow up just to get an MC or letter (needed by school) to declare the child fit for school. :)
Then after talking to my friends, I realise that my doc is a nice man. Very patient, and helps you save money where possible.
My friend has two kids, aged 6 and 2, and both recently had chicken pox too. She told me that her children took syrup chicken pox meds (as opposed to the pills my kids took), which cost her $100 a bottle... and her older child needed TWO bottles, while her younger one needed just one. Still... and that didn't include the anti-itch and the cream yet... and definitely not the consultation. My doc did mention that there was syrup available, but he told me that it cost $90 a bottle, and that even Shannon, as well as the biggies would need two bottles each. That alone would have set us back by $540!!! Good grief!
My SIL also mentioned that her doc had said that chicken pox vaccination would cost $100. My doc had, in the past, when I had enquired, quoted only $80.
So all in all, I think my doc is heaven-sent... he's just a regular GP, but a wonderful man with 3 kids himself... his clinic is usually crowded, and a far cry from the clinic just a few doors down which is usually empty. I used to go there, but found the doctor wanting, so moved to this fella and stuck with him ever since. Thank God for a great family doctor!!!
Monday, November 05, 2007
More Pox Updates...
First it was the hubby... then it was the baby.
Thankfully, the baby, with excellent medication which we crushed and hit in strawberry milk, recovered very quickly, with a grand total of less than 50 poxes on her entire body, was good to go back to school just one week after she got the pox....
That was two weeks ago... when the first bubbles first appeared on a Saturday... and the doctor most ominously predicted that should the older ones get it, the bubbles would likely surface on Nov 3rd or 4th.
Come Nov 3rd... I was very caught up in Stacey's concert, and I thoroughly scanned her for spots. None to behold. Great!!! So we rush here and there and everywhere... then daddy tells me, oh, Zach has a bubble on his hand (this after we have finished attending music class and maths class in the morning, mind you)... so I examine it. It's a small bubble. I'm of the opinion that it is the pox... but daddy says he doesn't think so... besides, look, there's only one. Pox doesn't appear in just a single bubble. Er, OK, whatever... so we rush... off to Stacey's ballet school where I have to train the showcase choir for the special item, before rushing off yet again to Stacy's kindergarten, where she's dancing in two items... a rare privilege... for she the only one in her class to do so.
On Sunday, Zach's one single bubble becomes bigger... looks definitely more like the pox. OK. So we keep him home, and I take the girls to church. Stacey was checked prior to leaving the house. Clean. Nothing. Nadda. Zilch. Good.
On sunday night, Zach begins to grow more bubbles. OK. We declare that Zach has chicken pox. The boy is delighted to learn that he is now excused from school, possibly for a period of 14 days, which effectively means his Nov holidays have started... two weeks early... erm, OK. But I'm still hoping that he will follow in Shannon's pox-steps and recover in a week to give me a week's worth of sanity before I have to entertain them for one and a half months. OK.
Today is Monday. I check Stacey. Still clean. Nothing. No bubbles, nothing. So off we go to school... we all tumble into the car and begin a journey... Shannon off to school, Stacey off to school, Daddy off to work, Me and Zach off to the doc's. It being a Monday morning, the clinic is crowded as usual... so we take our time... we have breakfast, I buy him some cheapo 3D puzzles to fix and occupy him... $2.50 for 12 mini 3D puzzles of bugs. Because they are small, it requires a great deal of concentration. This buys me almost two hours of peace. That's well worth the $2.50 I think.
By the time we see the doctor, it's close to 10.45am... the doc declares it to be so... and we go through the usual, then out we go. We pop back home to pick up the pill cutter, I teach my 7yo to swallow first 1/6ths of the pill, then 1/4s of the pills... success!! So proud of my son (especially since I only learnt to swallow pills when I got pregnant with him... *sheepish grin*)
I drop him off at my mom's to go pick up Stacey from school. As we walk to the car, I notice that she's got some little red dots on her body... oh oh. As soon as she gets home, I examine her, only to find one bubble on her shoulder, and several other little red barely there bubbles... but definitely threatening to be bubbles, nonetheless. Oops, she's got it too.
The doc is closed at this point, so we wait... for 1.30pm when the clinic opens. Again, it's crowded. She brings along a sticker book and I bring along a book to read... we wait, and wait and wait... the doc does a double take when I walk through his door... I laugh and tell him it's the last instalment... no more after this. Heh. As I declare that she's got the pox and point out the bubbles, he says that he trusts my judegement by now and knows that I can tell a pox bubble when I see one... so he barely looks at her pox. He goes through the whole listen to the heart routine yada yada... and we walk out with the same instructions, same meds and so on.
So now, for this week at least, everything is more or less on hold... swimming is on hold for a month, school is on hold for at least a week (and daddy moans that Thursday will be a wasted public holiday cos we are all stuck at home), enrichment lessons are on hold for at least a week too, with the exception of violin and Berries for the baby. OK.
But you know what? I'm thankful. thankful that this time, it's the both of them... with Zach having already set the standard for swallowing medication, Stacey took to it like a duck to water, although I think this was largely motivated by wanting to be as good if not better than korkor at it... and good she was. She swallowed the bits easily enough, with less fuss the first few times than korkor's fledgeling attempts.
And this is actually the best timing for Stacey to be down with it. She's just completed her school concert, and her ballet concert is not for a month... by which time she would have completely recovered, and I no longer have to worry about incubation periods and whatnot. Had she only come down with it two weeks from now, it would have been disastrous... because she would have to stay home during the last few critical rehearsals, and I would be too busy to tend to her.
So you know what? Praise the Lord for his impeccable timing, and for honouring the prayers and faith of a little girl whose heart is so set on dancing and acting on the talents that God has given her. Thank you Lord, for blessing her simple faith and listening to her prayers.
Thankfully, the baby, with excellent medication which we crushed and hit in strawberry milk, recovered very quickly, with a grand total of less than 50 poxes on her entire body, was good to go back to school just one week after she got the pox....
That was two weeks ago... when the first bubbles first appeared on a Saturday... and the doctor most ominously predicted that should the older ones get it, the bubbles would likely surface on Nov 3rd or 4th.
Come Nov 3rd... I was very caught up in Stacey's concert, and I thoroughly scanned her for spots. None to behold. Great!!! So we rush here and there and everywhere... then daddy tells me, oh, Zach has a bubble on his hand (this after we have finished attending music class and maths class in the morning, mind you)... so I examine it. It's a small bubble. I'm of the opinion that it is the pox... but daddy says he doesn't think so... besides, look, there's only one. Pox doesn't appear in just a single bubble. Er, OK, whatever... so we rush... off to Stacey's ballet school where I have to train the showcase choir for the special item, before rushing off yet again to Stacy's kindergarten, where she's dancing in two items... a rare privilege... for she the only one in her class to do so.
On Sunday, Zach's one single bubble becomes bigger... looks definitely more like the pox. OK. So we keep him home, and I take the girls to church. Stacey was checked prior to leaving the house. Clean. Nothing. Nadda. Zilch. Good.
On sunday night, Zach begins to grow more bubbles. OK. We declare that Zach has chicken pox. The boy is delighted to learn that he is now excused from school, possibly for a period of 14 days, which effectively means his Nov holidays have started... two weeks early... erm, OK. But I'm still hoping that he will follow in Shannon's pox-steps and recover in a week to give me a week's worth of sanity before I have to entertain them for one and a half months. OK.
Today is Monday. I check Stacey. Still clean. Nothing. No bubbles, nothing. So off we go to school... we all tumble into the car and begin a journey... Shannon off to school, Stacey off to school, Daddy off to work, Me and Zach off to the doc's. It being a Monday morning, the clinic is crowded as usual... so we take our time... we have breakfast, I buy him some cheapo 3D puzzles to fix and occupy him... $2.50 for 12 mini 3D puzzles of bugs. Because they are small, it requires a great deal of concentration. This buys me almost two hours of peace. That's well worth the $2.50 I think.
By the time we see the doctor, it's close to 10.45am... the doc declares it to be so... and we go through the usual, then out we go. We pop back home to pick up the pill cutter, I teach my 7yo to swallow first 1/6ths of the pill, then 1/4s of the pills... success!! So proud of my son (especially since I only learnt to swallow pills when I got pregnant with him... *sheepish grin*)
I drop him off at my mom's to go pick up Stacey from school. As we walk to the car, I notice that she's got some little red dots on her body... oh oh. As soon as she gets home, I examine her, only to find one bubble on her shoulder, and several other little red barely there bubbles... but definitely threatening to be bubbles, nonetheless. Oops, she's got it too.
The doc is closed at this point, so we wait... for 1.30pm when the clinic opens. Again, it's crowded. She brings along a sticker book and I bring along a book to read... we wait, and wait and wait... the doc does a double take when I walk through his door... I laugh and tell him it's the last instalment... no more after this. Heh. As I declare that she's got the pox and point out the bubbles, he says that he trusts my judegement by now and knows that I can tell a pox bubble when I see one... so he barely looks at her pox. He goes through the whole listen to the heart routine yada yada... and we walk out with the same instructions, same meds and so on.
So now, for this week at least, everything is more or less on hold... swimming is on hold for a month, school is on hold for at least a week (and daddy moans that Thursday will be a wasted public holiday cos we are all stuck at home), enrichment lessons are on hold for at least a week too, with the exception of violin and Berries for the baby. OK.
But you know what? I'm thankful. thankful that this time, it's the both of them... with Zach having already set the standard for swallowing medication, Stacey took to it like a duck to water, although I think this was largely motivated by wanting to be as good if not better than korkor at it... and good she was. She swallowed the bits easily enough, with less fuss the first few times than korkor's fledgeling attempts.
And this is actually the best timing for Stacey to be down with it. She's just completed her school concert, and her ballet concert is not for a month... by which time she would have completely recovered, and I no longer have to worry about incubation periods and whatnot. Had she only come down with it two weeks from now, it would have been disastrous... because she would have to stay home during the last few critical rehearsals, and I would be too busy to tend to her.
So you know what? Praise the Lord for his impeccable timing, and for honouring the prayers and faith of a little girl whose heart is so set on dancing and acting on the talents that God has given her. Thank you Lord, for blessing her simple faith and listening to her prayers.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Who Shannon looks like...
Haha, if this says that Shannon looks more like daddy, then it's dead wrong... LOL! Shannon at this age, looks very much like I did at the same age... so I'd think of the 3 kids, she would look most like me... but we'll see...
And the verdict is...
OK... she looks more like me, but less so than Zach... hmm, interesting. I had to did this one thrice... two of her more recent pics, with the results being that she looks equally like the both of us, then this one, where she really looks like me in one of my own baby pics...
I think I'm gonna try one with my own baby pic and see what results I get... LOL!
And the verdict is...
OK... she looks more like me, but less so than Zach... hmm, interesting. I had to did this one thrice... two of her more recent pics, with the results being that she looks equally like the both of us, then this one, where she really looks like me in one of my own baby pics...
I think I'm gonna try one with my own baby pic and see what results I get... LOL!
Who Zachary Looks like
Before the results are posted... I'm guessing that he looks more or less equally like the both of us... because he's got the top half of my face, and the bottom half of daddy's face, I think... although when he was young, he did look very much like me when I was at the same age... but now not so much...
And the result is....
Hmm, he looks more like me by 11%... wow, that's a lot!
And the result is....
Hmm, he looks more like me by 11%... wow, that's a lot!
Who Stacey looks like...
OK, we've always said she looks like a photo copy of daddy...so only 6% is kinda a surprise.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
My 2y11mo can spell...
Shannon turned 2years 11mths old on the 19th of Oct. In a month's time, she turns 3. And she can spell. For real. Not the memorised to death kind of spelling. The listen to the sounds and figure it out kind of spelling.
She took 2 weeks to master the 26 basic sounds of the 26 letters of the alphabet. So I moved on to letter blending... in both directions... to read, you have to sound the letters, and join them up. To spell, you have to break down the sounds into the individual sounds, then spell them out.
And she is able to spell 3 letter words that are break-able in that way. Words that have a vowel in the middle with it's short sound... and two consonants... one on either end.... so words like cat, mat hat, and tag bag hag, and hit fit kit etc etc etc.
She breaks down the word into its components and says them over and over and then assigns the right letters to those sounds.
I'm floored... I can't believe how quickly she picks things up... it's just amazing.
She took 2 weeks to master the 26 basic sounds of the 26 letters of the alphabet. So I moved on to letter blending... in both directions... to read, you have to sound the letters, and join them up. To spell, you have to break down the sounds into the individual sounds, then spell them out.
And she is able to spell 3 letter words that are break-able in that way. Words that have a vowel in the middle with it's short sound... and two consonants... one on either end.... so words like cat, mat hat, and tag bag hag, and hit fit kit etc etc etc.
She breaks down the word into its components and says them over and over and then assigns the right letters to those sounds.
I'm floored... I can't believe how quickly she picks things up... it's just amazing.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Further Updates in the Poxed House...
Hubby went back to work on Thursday. That was just two days ago.
Last week, Shannon's classmate came down with the chicken pox too. The school was notified exactly one week ago. Today, Shannon has mysterious little red dots on her body. Some had rather familiar looking bubbles in the middle of them.
Shannon has been poxed... sigh. And I think she didn't get it from her father. Rather, she got it from her friend. From what we heard, another child was also reported as having the pox. Ah well. And to think we made such a huge effort not to "contage" the kids...
So today is Day 1 of Shannon's pox. Brought her to the doc's, who gave her meds to prevent it from becoming hugely bad. And stuff for the itch. And stuff for broken poxes to prevent them from getting a secondary infection. And of course, we give her the usual stuff for fever. OK.
So Shannon's stuck at home with us for at least a week. Doc said that she would probably clear in a week to 10 days. OK... and that she would only be contagious for the next 5 days. OK. So I'll have to check with him as to when it would be OK for her to go back to school.
And this means that Stacey's incubation period just got extended by another 3 weeks. But I don't care... she goes back to school on Wednesday, 3 weeks after her daddy first got poxed. Even if she does come down with it now and infects others, by the time they manifest the symptoms, it would be after the concert. So boo to that.
Thankfully, Shannon didn't go to school yesterday, since it was violin day. So perhaps that would be one less severe incident. But then again, there was the other child who also came down with it. Oh bully.
Last week, Shannon's classmate came down with the chicken pox too. The school was notified exactly one week ago. Today, Shannon has mysterious little red dots on her body. Some had rather familiar looking bubbles in the middle of them.
Shannon has been poxed... sigh. And I think she didn't get it from her father. Rather, she got it from her friend. From what we heard, another child was also reported as having the pox. Ah well. And to think we made such a huge effort not to "contage" the kids...
So today is Day 1 of Shannon's pox. Brought her to the doc's, who gave her meds to prevent it from becoming hugely bad. And stuff for the itch. And stuff for broken poxes to prevent them from getting a secondary infection. And of course, we give her the usual stuff for fever. OK.
So Shannon's stuck at home with us for at least a week. Doc said that she would probably clear in a week to 10 days. OK... and that she would only be contagious for the next 5 days. OK. So I'll have to check with him as to when it would be OK for her to go back to school.
And this means that Stacey's incubation period just got extended by another 3 weeks. But I don't care... she goes back to school on Wednesday, 3 weeks after her daddy first got poxed. Even if she does come down with it now and infects others, by the time they manifest the symptoms, it would be after the concert. So boo to that.
Thankfully, Shannon didn't go to school yesterday, since it was violin day. So perhaps that would be one less severe incident. But then again, there was the other child who also came down with it. Oh bully.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Updates on life in the Poxed House...
Yesterday was a very eventful day. I was most miffed. To state it mildly.
I had gone for a prayer meeting with two lady friends, and inadvertently left my mobile in the car. So I didn't get to it until we had to adjourn back to FF's place because she had forgotten she'd be out, and needed to go home to let her boys, who had had exams and were let out from school early, into the house.
Once I got to the car, I noticed that I had many messages and missed calls. It turned out that Stacey's school had been calling me. I returned the call upon reaching FF's estate, then find out that Stacey had been kept in the office almost the entire morning because the Principal was afraid that she would pass Chicken Pox virus to the rest of the class and thereby starting a Chicken Pox epidemic. I mean, come on! She isn't even sick.
I was terribly upset. I was so upset I kept laying my foot hard on the accelerator, and had to keep telling myself to calm done as I made a beeline for the school. I was furious. I was raging and struggling to understand why I was upset. I think I was upset because I felt that Stacey had wasted her whole morning, all for the unfounded fears of the paranoid... I was also worried that she would feel rejected at having been forced to sit aside and not interact with her friends... a big thing for the highly sociable Stacey. I was also highly irritated because it sounded like they thought she should be quarantined... and the incubation period for Chicken Pox is 3 weeks... were they suggesting that she be kept home for 3 weeks JUST IN CASE she came down with it? And all this was because they were afraid of it affecting their concert which is due on Nov 4th. Blah.
Still... I managed to calm down some by the time I reached the school, but it was painfully apparent that it was not enough as staff eyed me warily as I marched through the school hunting down the principal, so that I could have it out with her. (Keep in mind that this lady is someone I know well, and who knows me well... )
So after ranting about how I do my best to keep the child sanitary and clean before allowing her to come to school, and how it was unfair for them to keep her away like that for the entire morning (to which she tried to convince me it was not the ENTIRE morning.. just most of it), she reluctantly agreed that Stacey could continue attending school "since you say that you are keeping her clean of virus and that it should be OK". Ah well, yah...
So after I took Stacey home... I thought about it and decided that, what the heck... I will keep her at home for the next 2 weeks... she'd still have 1.5wks before her concert... more than enough time to catch up with her friends, since she'd learnt quite a bit of the dances already anyway... and mainly, I didn't want to be held responsible for any outbreak of Chicken Pox that they might have... especially if it wasn't us in the first place! I simply knew that we would definitely be blamed for any chicken pox outbreak if it should occur, and I would not have Stacey be made the scapegoat for it.
Sigh.
On a lighter note... Shannon is better. Her fever lasted only the weekend, and went no higher than 38.9 degrees. A huge relief. But they are not in the clear yet... if they are going to come down with it, most likely it will be the middle of next week... ah well.
So today, Stacey is home with us. Next week, due to PSLE marking days, both Stace and Zach will be home... and I will have a huge task keeping them occupied and on task because Zach must prepare for his exams the following week, and Stace must keep on top of her school work or she will fall behind from lack of practice. I will have a small taste of homeschooling next week... and it should be interesting.
Man, I need a break...
I had gone for a prayer meeting with two lady friends, and inadvertently left my mobile in the car. So I didn't get to it until we had to adjourn back to FF's place because she had forgotten she'd be out, and needed to go home to let her boys, who had had exams and were let out from school early, into the house.
Once I got to the car, I noticed that I had many messages and missed calls. It turned out that Stacey's school had been calling me. I returned the call upon reaching FF's estate, then find out that Stacey had been kept in the office almost the entire morning because the Principal was afraid that she would pass Chicken Pox virus to the rest of the class and thereby starting a Chicken Pox epidemic. I mean, come on! She isn't even sick.
I was terribly upset. I was so upset I kept laying my foot hard on the accelerator, and had to keep telling myself to calm done as I made a beeline for the school. I was furious. I was raging and struggling to understand why I was upset. I think I was upset because I felt that Stacey had wasted her whole morning, all for the unfounded fears of the paranoid... I was also worried that she would feel rejected at having been forced to sit aside and not interact with her friends... a big thing for the highly sociable Stacey. I was also highly irritated because it sounded like they thought she should be quarantined... and the incubation period for Chicken Pox is 3 weeks... were they suggesting that she be kept home for 3 weeks JUST IN CASE she came down with it? And all this was because they were afraid of it affecting their concert which is due on Nov 4th. Blah.
Still... I managed to calm down some by the time I reached the school, but it was painfully apparent that it was not enough as staff eyed me warily as I marched through the school hunting down the principal, so that I could have it out with her. (Keep in mind that this lady is someone I know well, and who knows me well... )
So after ranting about how I do my best to keep the child sanitary and clean before allowing her to come to school, and how it was unfair for them to keep her away like that for the entire morning (to which she tried to convince me it was not the ENTIRE morning.. just most of it), she reluctantly agreed that Stacey could continue attending school "since you say that you are keeping her clean of virus and that it should be OK". Ah well, yah...
So after I took Stacey home... I thought about it and decided that, what the heck... I will keep her at home for the next 2 weeks... she'd still have 1.5wks before her concert... more than enough time to catch up with her friends, since she'd learnt quite a bit of the dances already anyway... and mainly, I didn't want to be held responsible for any outbreak of Chicken Pox that they might have... especially if it wasn't us in the first place! I simply knew that we would definitely be blamed for any chicken pox outbreak if it should occur, and I would not have Stacey be made the scapegoat for it.
Sigh.
On a lighter note... Shannon is better. Her fever lasted only the weekend, and went no higher than 38.9 degrees. A huge relief. But they are not in the clear yet... if they are going to come down with it, most likely it will be the middle of next week... ah well.
So today, Stacey is home with us. Next week, due to PSLE marking days, both Stace and Zach will be home... and I will have a huge task keeping them occupied and on task because Zach must prepare for his exams the following week, and Stace must keep on top of her school work or she will fall behind from lack of practice. I will have a small taste of homeschooling next week... and it should be interesting.
Man, I need a break...
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Shannon is sick... is it...???
When I went to pick up the kids from my mom's today, she reported that Shannon had not eaten her dinner, and had even rejected her favourite food... I figured something was wrong.
So when we got home, I whipped out the trusty thermometer and took everybody's temps... and it turns out that Shannon does indeed have a fever... a semi-raging one at that... 38.9. OK.
So on goes the fever pad (accompanied by much wailing and crying - she hates it when it goes on), and down goes some fever meds. She fell asleep very quickly tonight, and I hope the fever doesn't wake her up in the middle of the night. I hope she stays comfortable until morning. Ah well.
So there's still Stacey and Zach and I who are well... I had chicken pox at ages 3 AND 17, so it's highly unlikely I'll get it again... Still hoping that Stace won't get it, nor will Zach... but we'll see. In a way, it would be easier to have everyone have it all at once... then we needn't worry about further infections... and I'll just cook porridge by the pot... with my trusty ENDO thermal magic cooker... haha. Then in about 3 weeks, it'd all be over. The worst would be a relay of the virus... you know, after one gets well, another succumbs... that kind of thing. Ah well...
So when we got home, I whipped out the trusty thermometer and took everybody's temps... and it turns out that Shannon does indeed have a fever... a semi-raging one at that... 38.9. OK.
So on goes the fever pad (accompanied by much wailing and crying - she hates it when it goes on), and down goes some fever meds. She fell asleep very quickly tonight, and I hope the fever doesn't wake her up in the middle of the night. I hope she stays comfortable until morning. Ah well.
So there's still Stacey and Zach and I who are well... I had chicken pox at ages 3 AND 17, so it's highly unlikely I'll get it again... Still hoping that Stace won't get it, nor will Zach... but we'll see. In a way, it would be easier to have everyone have it all at once... then we needn't worry about further infections... and I'll just cook porridge by the pot... with my trusty ENDO thermal magic cooker... haha. Then in about 3 weeks, it'd all be over. The worst would be a relay of the virus... you know, after one gets well, another succumbs... that kind of thing. Ah well...
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Poxed!
My husband has been poxed!
Can't believe that in all of his... ahem... so many years, he hasn't been poxed before!!! I mean the chicken pox lah!
So, other than myself, the only other family member who has been poxed... not once, but twice, mind you... everybody else is susceptible to this new invader of our peaceful home.
Not that I mind Shannon being poxed at this stage... she's so young that she would heal in a jiffy (even though it would be a painful two weeks for all involved) and leave little scarring... and it'd be OK for Zach to get it now too, since exams aren't real important at this stage... the only one I'm hoping will not be affected is Stacey.
She's got so much on her plate right now that I'm afraid that if she does come down with it, she will inevitably miss one thing or another... all of which I'm sure she would rather not miss. On Monday, she will be having her photo-taking for her big time Christmas concert at the end of the year... in less than a month's time, she will be having her school concert, which she will be doing two items for... in less than 2 months' time, she will be having her big time Christmas concert which both she and I are excited about... so...
And the irritating thing is that the incubation period is 3 weeks. So if anyone else comes down with it... she might still have it... even though the Christmas concert is so far away. So I'm hoping that if she has to get it, that it will be after Monday, and quickly after Monday... so that she can be back in school for the last round of practices before her school concert, and not miss too much in terms of her Christmas concert... argh!
Can't believe that in all of his... ahem... so many years, he hasn't been poxed before!!! I mean the chicken pox lah!
So, other than myself, the only other family member who has been poxed... not once, but twice, mind you... everybody else is susceptible to this new invader of our peaceful home.
Not that I mind Shannon being poxed at this stage... she's so young that she would heal in a jiffy (even though it would be a painful two weeks for all involved) and leave little scarring... and it'd be OK for Zach to get it now too, since exams aren't real important at this stage... the only one I'm hoping will not be affected is Stacey.
She's got so much on her plate right now that I'm afraid that if she does come down with it, she will inevitably miss one thing or another... all of which I'm sure she would rather not miss. On Monday, she will be having her photo-taking for her big time Christmas concert at the end of the year... in less than a month's time, she will be having her school concert, which she will be doing two items for... in less than 2 months' time, she will be having her big time Christmas concert which both she and I are excited about... so...
And the irritating thing is that the incubation period is 3 weeks. So if anyone else comes down with it... she might still have it... even though the Christmas concert is so far away. So I'm hoping that if she has to get it, that it will be after Monday, and quickly after Monday... so that she can be back in school for the last round of practices before her school concert, and not miss too much in terms of her Christmas concert... argh!
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Concert in aid of Autism Resource Centre
Calling one and all!!! Come attend Stacey's Dance School's Concert and donate to charity!!!
Stacey's Dance School is having a concert on 1st and 2nd of December at Victoria Theatre. All proceeds will be donated to the Autism Resource Centre here in Singapore. Come and enjoy ballet, tap, modern & jazz dances by dancers of all ages!
Titled "Christmas Isn't Christmas Until...", the concert will showcase children from Stacey's school. There will be two shows each day - Matinee (2.30pm) and Evening (7.30pm) performances. However, 1st December is Gala Night, where tickets are sold at a higher price for an extra fundraising boost!
Normal tickets are going at $30, $25 and $20 only!
Stacey will be performing in the two matinee shows... and email me for a secret on who might be making an appearance too... but you will be sworn to secrecy after!!!
Email me at jr4email[dash]blog[at]yahoo[dot]com for ticket orders! I'll let you know once tickets are available!!! The matinee shows feature all the littlest ones, so expect tickets to be snapped up fast!
Stacey's Dance School is having a concert on 1st and 2nd of December at Victoria Theatre. All proceeds will be donated to the Autism Resource Centre here in Singapore. Come and enjoy ballet, tap, modern & jazz dances by dancers of all ages!
Titled "Christmas Isn't Christmas Until...", the concert will showcase children from Stacey's school. There will be two shows each day - Matinee (2.30pm) and Evening (7.30pm) performances. However, 1st December is Gala Night, where tickets are sold at a higher price for an extra fundraising boost!
Normal tickets are going at $30, $25 and $20 only!
Stacey will be performing in the two matinee shows... and email me for a secret on who might be making an appearance too... but you will be sworn to secrecy after!!!
Email me at jr4email[dash]blog[at]yahoo[dot]com for ticket orders! I'll let you know once tickets are available!!! The matinee shows feature all the littlest ones, so expect tickets to be snapped up fast!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Update on Stacey
My middle child is a performer. She loves being in the limelight, and having the attention all to herself. I think it accounts for why when she's alone with any adult, she's such an angel, but the moment one or both of her siblings come into the picture, she becomes this attention-starved-crazed child who will do anything to get attention, and to fight her siblings for it.
For her year-end concert at school, she is one of three young ladies to have the privilege of doing two items as opposed to one. Her teacher made her ask me for permission to participate in more than one item (because it translates into having to buy two costumes instead of one... double the expenditure). I agreed simply because I know she enoys it so much.
At the same time, for her upcoming Christmas Concert organised by her dance school, she also has the privilege of being in two items as well. She's currently in the Primary Grade of ballet, but because the Pre-Primary Grade children are an odd number, she is joining them to make up the last pair. I think the teacher chose her, partly because she knew I wouldn't mind taking her for an extra class each week, partly because she probably knew Stace would enjoy it, and I think mostly because Stace is short enough to join the babies without sticking out. In fact, she fits right in. Thankfully though, I won't have to pay for two sets of costumes there... but I'll be plenty busy... having been roped in to coordinate and disseminate information, as well as to field questions... besides also being the appointed babysitter for the rehearsals and concert days... as well as being arrowed to teach the put together group of children to sing. OK... but I love such things, and so am more than glad to be involved.
Stace's reading has improved tremendously, but it takes a huge amount of effort on her part to get words right and understood. She's more confident about reading now, and more willing to try to read. It's wonderful... and I'm glad that we started on the intervention before she joined Primary One. I hope that she will gain enough confidence to fit right in, and not have her dyslexia interfere with all the difficulties going to P1 brings.
She seems to be quite good in class, and seems to want to be on her best behaviour while at school or lesson of most kinds... so I'm glad. Even if she can be very trying sometimes, at least she does all her experimenting at home as opposed to in school.
I really wish sometimes that I could turn back the clock and have stayed home earlier and sooner, so that I could have avoided all that competition introduced by the extended family... all that comparing with korkor and competing in everything. They used to compare them in everything... especially when it came to eating... and she always came out the poorer for it. Now, life is one huge competition. There are good days when they are wonderful playmates and best of friends... but there are also the times that are so trying. I can only ask the Lord for the extra measure of patience and wisdom and discernment... that I may know how to handle things.
Still, she is excelling in so much. Her maths (except for sequencing) is going great... she's working through P1 maths and doing just fine. Her love for dance and performing means that she outshines others on stage... the most recent being her Graduation Ceremony... where her class put on an item, and she stole the limelight by being the most exuberant and enthusiastic pompom girl there ever was. She looked a little like she was high on something... but it was really just that she was delirious with being on stage and doing what she does best... moving to music. Her swimming is coming along great too... we had a bit of a setback when, during the school holidays, she went for dyslexia intervention followed immediately by swimming... she was so completely knackered that she just couldn't do what was required of her. And that set her back and caused her to dislike lessons, even though she had previously always looked forward to it. So, I had to send a few discreet text messages to the coach to lay off the pushing for a while, so that both kids could regain their confidence... at least things are starting to progress again after that week of setback.
Ah, my dear middle child... I know I shall have to be most patient with you... dear Lord, teach me how to love this unique little girl with her unique personality and needs. And help me to help them learn to live and love... show me dear Lord. Amen.
For her year-end concert at school, she is one of three young ladies to have the privilege of doing two items as opposed to one. Her teacher made her ask me for permission to participate in more than one item (because it translates into having to buy two costumes instead of one... double the expenditure). I agreed simply because I know she enoys it so much.
At the same time, for her upcoming Christmas Concert organised by her dance school, she also has the privilege of being in two items as well. She's currently in the Primary Grade of ballet, but because the Pre-Primary Grade children are an odd number, she is joining them to make up the last pair. I think the teacher chose her, partly because she knew I wouldn't mind taking her for an extra class each week, partly because she probably knew Stace would enjoy it, and I think mostly because Stace is short enough to join the babies without sticking out. In fact, she fits right in. Thankfully though, I won't have to pay for two sets of costumes there... but I'll be plenty busy... having been roped in to coordinate and disseminate information, as well as to field questions... besides also being the appointed babysitter for the rehearsals and concert days... as well as being arrowed to teach the put together group of children to sing. OK... but I love such things, and so am more than glad to be involved.
Stace's reading has improved tremendously, but it takes a huge amount of effort on her part to get words right and understood. She's more confident about reading now, and more willing to try to read. It's wonderful... and I'm glad that we started on the intervention before she joined Primary One. I hope that she will gain enough confidence to fit right in, and not have her dyslexia interfere with all the difficulties going to P1 brings.
She seems to be quite good in class, and seems to want to be on her best behaviour while at school or lesson of most kinds... so I'm glad. Even if she can be very trying sometimes, at least she does all her experimenting at home as opposed to in school.
I really wish sometimes that I could turn back the clock and have stayed home earlier and sooner, so that I could have avoided all that competition introduced by the extended family... all that comparing with korkor and competing in everything. They used to compare them in everything... especially when it came to eating... and she always came out the poorer for it. Now, life is one huge competition. There are good days when they are wonderful playmates and best of friends... but there are also the times that are so trying. I can only ask the Lord for the extra measure of patience and wisdom and discernment... that I may know how to handle things.
Still, she is excelling in so much. Her maths (except for sequencing) is going great... she's working through P1 maths and doing just fine. Her love for dance and performing means that she outshines others on stage... the most recent being her Graduation Ceremony... where her class put on an item, and she stole the limelight by being the most exuberant and enthusiastic pompom girl there ever was. She looked a little like she was high on something... but it was really just that she was delirious with being on stage and doing what she does best... moving to music. Her swimming is coming along great too... we had a bit of a setback when, during the school holidays, she went for dyslexia intervention followed immediately by swimming... she was so completely knackered that she just couldn't do what was required of her. And that set her back and caused her to dislike lessons, even though she had previously always looked forward to it. So, I had to send a few discreet text messages to the coach to lay off the pushing for a while, so that both kids could regain their confidence... at least things are starting to progress again after that week of setback.
Ah, my dear middle child... I know I shall have to be most patient with you... dear Lord, teach me how to love this unique little girl with her unique personality and needs. And help me to help them learn to live and love... show me dear Lord. Amen.
Funny Kids
Out of the blue, Zach asked tonight, at dinner time:
"Mummy? Where did you find daddy?"
I looked at my eldest, and straight-faced I said, "Oh, I found him under a rock on the beach."
My wonderfully guillible eldest child looks at me, unblinking, unaware that I am pulling his leg... Stacey is quiet... but Shannon... ah dear Shannon... bursts out in guffaws... great big chortling deep belly laughs, eyes twinkling in true merriment.
Hubby starts to chuckle... how not to? The 7 and 5yos are clueless, and it seems that only the baby got the joke.
Zach continues... "Then? What did you do?"... he took me seriously???!! I continue to deadpan, telling him that I asked if daddy was uncomfortable down there... and how daddy answered no. Zach continues with "What did you say to him then??" ... does my son really believe me??!!! "I said 'I do!' " was my reply... and he continues to ask "and then?" at which point I decided that enough was enough, so I gave the only answer I knew would stop the conversation short...
"Then I gave daddy a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG kiss in front of everybody!!!"
My son falls off his chair in mock horror and proclaims to all and sundry, "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! I'm never going to kiss anyone!!" Yeah, right son... tell me that again when your hormones are raging and all you can think about is kissing a girl... or... OK, never mind, shan't even go there...
Hmm, I still can't believe the baby got the punchline that sailed right over her siblings' heads... Hubby said after dinner, "I think it's the littlest one that we've got to keep our eye on..." Hmm, yup, I think so too.
"Mummy? Where did you find daddy?"
I looked at my eldest, and straight-faced I said, "Oh, I found him under a rock on the beach."
My wonderfully guillible eldest child looks at me, unblinking, unaware that I am pulling his leg... Stacey is quiet... but Shannon... ah dear Shannon... bursts out in guffaws... great big chortling deep belly laughs, eyes twinkling in true merriment.
Hubby starts to chuckle... how not to? The 7 and 5yos are clueless, and it seems that only the baby got the joke.
Zach continues... "Then? What did you do?"... he took me seriously???!! I continue to deadpan, telling him that I asked if daddy was uncomfortable down there... and how daddy answered no. Zach continues with "What did you say to him then??" ... does my son really believe me??!!! "I said 'I do!' " was my reply... and he continues to ask "and then?" at which point I decided that enough was enough, so I gave the only answer I knew would stop the conversation short...
"Then I gave daddy a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG kiss in front of everybody!!!"
My son falls off his chair in mock horror and proclaims to all and sundry, "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! I'm never going to kiss anyone!!" Yeah, right son... tell me that again when your hormones are raging and all you can think about is kissing a girl... or... OK, never mind, shan't even go there...
Hmm, I still can't believe the baby got the punchline that sailed right over her siblings' heads... Hubby said after dinner, "I think it's the littlest one that we've got to keep our eye on..." Hmm, yup, I think so too.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Update on Shannon
Shannon's really developing very fast. She just had her 2y10mth-birthday, and is just 2 mths shy of turning her full 3 years old.
Bought them a Word Whammer from Leapfrog series lately. It's basically a little toy that comes with letters, and if you make 3 letter words with them, it will read them back to you and sound out the letters and help you spell and stuff.
So there's one mode that is called "word builder", where you are encouraged to just make any 3 letter word. If you happen to chance on a combination that makes an actual word, it will sing a word song... and say the word you made. If you made gibberish, it will just sound the sounds of the letters, and then say that you made interesting sounds. Quite funny.
Anyway, so I was trying to teach Shannon to do blends... and she was having a jam sandwich this morning, so I asked her if she could spell the word "jam", of course, no expecting her to. I broke it into its sounds for her, and she picked up the letter "j", then the letter "m". I highlighted to her that there was a second sound, one between /j/ and /m/, and she managed to identify the letter "a". Of course, she was then rewarded with the machine telling her she had made the word "jam". So we go on, and I ask her to make the word "ham"... again, she misses the "a", going straight from /h/ to /m/. So I help her hear the "a" sound, and again she picks it out. So far so good. Next I get her to make the word "hat". This time, she picked out "h", "a" and "t" all by herself!!! If I hadn't been sitting on the floor, I'd have fallen over! Unfortunately, we didn't have anymore time to mess around with the word whammer, because Stacey had to go to school... but I'll definitely be trying to see if it was truly a fluke, or if she's really gotten the hang of spelling phonetically before she turns 3!!!
We also had our violin lesson today. Rather fidgety... so we had to have a stern talk about how she had to settle down and listen and obey. Much better after that. And amazingly, she's managed to play the first part of Twinkle, the first song they learn in Suzuki. She still needed some help, but she's well on her way. Her teacher kept asking her whether she wanted to play in a concert. Now, if she can master her Twinkle song completely before Nov, and have her concert, she'd have her first concert at age 2y11mths! Haha. Talk about crazy... When I attended the concert her teacher organised recently, the youngest to play was 4... so that would really be something. Heh. But nah... I don't even know if she's ready to go before an audience to play... won't be surprised if she decides to do an ostrich! But she's always been full of surprises, so I guess you never know... she might just lap it all up! LOL.
Gotta go... continue later.
Bought them a Word Whammer from Leapfrog series lately. It's basically a little toy that comes with letters, and if you make 3 letter words with them, it will read them back to you and sound out the letters and help you spell and stuff.
So there's one mode that is called "word builder", where you are encouraged to just make any 3 letter word. If you happen to chance on a combination that makes an actual word, it will sing a word song... and say the word you made. If you made gibberish, it will just sound the sounds of the letters, and then say that you made interesting sounds. Quite funny.
Anyway, so I was trying to teach Shannon to do blends... and she was having a jam sandwich this morning, so I asked her if she could spell the word "jam", of course, no expecting her to. I broke it into its sounds for her, and she picked up the letter "j", then the letter "m". I highlighted to her that there was a second sound, one between /j/ and /m/, and she managed to identify the letter "a". Of course, she was then rewarded with the machine telling her she had made the word "jam". So we go on, and I ask her to make the word "ham"... again, she misses the "a", going straight from /h/ to /m/. So I help her hear the "a" sound, and again she picks it out. So far so good. Next I get her to make the word "hat". This time, she picked out "h", "a" and "t" all by herself!!! If I hadn't been sitting on the floor, I'd have fallen over! Unfortunately, we didn't have anymore time to mess around with the word whammer, because Stacey had to go to school... but I'll definitely be trying to see if it was truly a fluke, or if she's really gotten the hang of spelling phonetically before she turns 3!!!
We also had our violin lesson today. Rather fidgety... so we had to have a stern talk about how she had to settle down and listen and obey. Much better after that. And amazingly, she's managed to play the first part of Twinkle, the first song they learn in Suzuki. She still needed some help, but she's well on her way. Her teacher kept asking her whether she wanted to play in a concert. Now, if she can master her Twinkle song completely before Nov, and have her concert, she'd have her first concert at age 2y11mths! Haha. Talk about crazy... When I attended the concert her teacher organised recently, the youngest to play was 4... so that would really be something. Heh. But nah... I don't even know if she's ready to go before an audience to play... won't be surprised if she decides to do an ostrich! But she's always been full of surprises, so I guess you never know... she might just lap it all up! LOL.
Gotta go... continue later.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Updates on Zach
Zachary's first official examinations are coming up. And I think he has no idea what they really are. How do you get it into the head of a 7yo that exams are all-important because you might affect the rest of your school career, without scaring him to death??
Nowadays, they have "alternative assessments". For maths, he has a section of exam that's basically like a practical exam - he is given items to manipulate for length and mass, and that's part of the exam. For Oral in EL, he has to give a show-and-tell speech and recite poetry besides the usual reading a passage. For CL, he has to prepare a nursery song... "er ge" besides the usual, which he will surely fail to death, because even if he could read the words, he'd get the tone wrong... he speaks mandarin like a native speaker... of English that is.
He did have a breakthrough in swimming recently though... he finally managed to put his entire head underwater... quite a few times too. All on the promise of being given an Exoforce toy. Previously, he couldn't be bribed... but obviously he's progressed some. However, he declared that he could only do it because he was in the training pool, that is about 0.8m deep, and that when he returned to the deeper training pool that is 1.2m deep, he would not be able to do it. I hope that is not the case.
He still struggles with the whole "wanting to play all the time" thing... and has a hard time with my maxim of "work before play". I must admit though, that despite his grumbling, he will usually, after a while, sometimes quite a long while, settle down to work. Most of the time. Sometimes, it takes a quick pep talk, or even a scolding. Bad days usually occur when he's just got a new toy that he can't wait to play with, or a new book he can't wait to read.
Having said that, I'm so glad that he's suddenly hitched on to reading... fiction at that. He's fallen in love with the Geronimo Stilton series, and has been begging me to buy him books from that series... to date, that series has like 30 books... and each book costs a whopping $10! Still, when it comes to books, I'm usually willing to buy it for them. I'd rather they curl up with a good book then spend all their time trying to bash enemies up on a computer screen or zone out in front of the TV.
I really wonder what his results will look like at the end of the year... to say I'm nervous is rather an understatement, because I seriously think he might have problems with his examination techniques. Not so much that he doesn't know... just that he's very careless and zips through his work not realising that he's throwing many precious marks down the drain just because he didn't take the time to think and read instructions. Sigh.
Nowadays, they have "alternative assessments". For maths, he has a section of exam that's basically like a practical exam - he is given items to manipulate for length and mass, and that's part of the exam. For Oral in EL, he has to give a show-and-tell speech and recite poetry besides the usual reading a passage. For CL, he has to prepare a nursery song... "er ge" besides the usual, which he will surely fail to death, because even if he could read the words, he'd get the tone wrong... he speaks mandarin like a native speaker... of English that is.
He did have a breakthrough in swimming recently though... he finally managed to put his entire head underwater... quite a few times too. All on the promise of being given an Exoforce toy. Previously, he couldn't be bribed... but obviously he's progressed some. However, he declared that he could only do it because he was in the training pool, that is about 0.8m deep, and that when he returned to the deeper training pool that is 1.2m deep, he would not be able to do it. I hope that is not the case.
He still struggles with the whole "wanting to play all the time" thing... and has a hard time with my maxim of "work before play". I must admit though, that despite his grumbling, he will usually, after a while, sometimes quite a long while, settle down to work. Most of the time. Sometimes, it takes a quick pep talk, or even a scolding. Bad days usually occur when he's just got a new toy that he can't wait to play with, or a new book he can't wait to read.
Having said that, I'm so glad that he's suddenly hitched on to reading... fiction at that. He's fallen in love with the Geronimo Stilton series, and has been begging me to buy him books from that series... to date, that series has like 30 books... and each book costs a whopping $10! Still, when it comes to books, I'm usually willing to buy it for them. I'd rather they curl up with a good book then spend all their time trying to bash enemies up on a computer screen or zone out in front of the TV.
I really wonder what his results will look like at the end of the year... to say I'm nervous is rather an understatement, because I seriously think he might have problems with his examination techniques. Not so much that he doesn't know... just that he's very careless and zips through his work not realising that he's throwing many precious marks down the drain just because he didn't take the time to think and read instructions. Sigh.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Thoughts provoked...
Shannon's violin teacher has been ranting to me of late about how parents of her students are sometimes so backward when it comes to teaching their children manners. She has often commented that I have taught Shannon well, because I make Shannon say "thank you, Ms Y" when she gives her stickers, and to look her in the eye when saying thanks. Also, to say "byebye Ms Y" when going home, and "hello, Ms Y" when arriving for lessons. She's also seen me discipline Shannon when she gets overboard with her fidgeting in class, and has seen Shannon apologise when she's in the wrong.
So all this got me thinking... do young parents nowadays really put less emphasis on good manners? Do they really not care that they are bringing up uncouth youth who don't know what is acceptable and what is not?
Really, the culture of the world now is such that parents are expected to plead with their children and say please and thank you and all... I mean, yes, I'm all for setting a good example, but just today, at the kindergarten carpark, I saw a parent, on her knees (because she was talking to her 6yo child, so I assume she wanted to be at eye level... but since her standing child was taller than her in a kneeling position, it looked weird) begging... yes, begging, the child to get into the car. I mean, what's with that???? I mean, if I tell you to get in the car, you jolly well get in the car... because I say so! I am the parent, and if we're in the middle of a car park, blocking the way of others, in full view of everyone, when I say get in, you jolly well scoot really fast and get your butt into your seat! What's there to beg???? Ridiculous!
Yes, it's nice to use manners and not shout and yell and rant at children, and I'm certainly for not putting them down with insults and belittlement... but begging?!
I have seen oh, a gagillion parents with tantrum throwing not so young children whining and demanding their way... and the parent will sigh and shake their head, and weakly protest, trying to find a spot to put a toe down... but in the end, the child wins, because the parent is afraid of the child making a scene, of because the parent is too tired to fight the child, or because the parent is afraid of the child crying or whatever... and then, after they give in, they start to rant at the now deliriously happy / smug / satisfied child that the said child is naughty / stubborn etc and ask "why you don't listen?! you are so naughty!" and I'm thinking... well, you just made her a little naughtier, a little more stubborn by giving in... and the next time, she's gonna remember that she won this round, and she will persist all the more... because she knows you can be worn down!!! And so yes, we create our own monsters... by trying most ineffectively to put a toe down so gingerly, instead of just putting our foot down so that our charges know we mean business.
Yes, some children are more strong headed than others. Yes, some children are more stubborn than others. But well, excuse me, you just have to be more strong headed and stubborn than they are!!! Isn't that just common sense? Persistence and Consistency... that's all one needs... but unfortunately, many parents these days don't have it.... that and common sense. That's a misnomer, because apparently, it's awfully uncommon these days.
Shannon's teacher told me tales of how children broke her things, and it was the parent who apologised while the children ran away to hide. In the end, she had to elicit the apologies from the children, besides telling the mother involved that she should really teach her children to apologise instead of apologising for them... because it wasn't teaching them anything other than that she would bail them out whenever they did wrong... and it's this kind of parenting that also breeds the type that will beat up bus drivers and then expect to be bailed out by a father who pleads for the grown child by going on his knees and begging for the child to be forgiven. Sheesh!
Children don't come with built-in manners. They don't come with built-in anything, except for the built-in knowledge of sin and being naughty. It's the fallen nature. Nobody has to teach a child how to be naughty. That it learns all by itself. But teaching a child to be good and to have manners and concern for others, to know how to respond to people and how to do something as simple as greeting and elder when coming and going... that's all basic stuff. Yet, I find that many forget to teach such stuff. If you don't teach it to a child when young, when he is grown, he will not bother with it because to him, a life lacking in manners is the way to go.
I've had visitors come to my house... children, who play and make a collosal mess, who then just turn around once they are done and leave. Not thought to clean up after themselves, nothing. Unfortunately for them, I am one person who will not mince my words... and good manners stop short at the lack of common courtesy. So I have been known to tell my little visitors to pick up after themselves, and to mind their Ps and Qs. I've also been known to scold little visitors for opening a closed door and having a trampoline session on my bed... all uninvited. Do their parents really not teach them that when you are at someone else's home, you never open a closed door unless you have asked first? Or that you never jump on beds or couches or anything for that matter? I'm completely befuddled by such nonsense.
But then again, I know of adults who do the same. They come, they make and leave a colossal mess behind them, and they just turn and go off, assuming that the place magically cleans itself, or that it is the duty of someone faceless to do it... and so off they go... no wonder they bring up kids who think the same.
Could it be the prevalence of domestic helpers in our society? Such that our children are so used to being waited on hand and foot that they take it that everyone else is also around just to serve them? I don't have domestic help. I wouldn't know. But I would certainly hope that if I did have a helper, I would train my children still to pick up after themselves, and to train my helper NOT to do everything for them... for they have hands and legs and are perfectly capable of getting a drink for themselves, or putting on their own clothes and tying their own shoes... but since I haven't got a helper.. it's all moot...
sigh... as an ex-teacher, I have seen too many different kinds of parents. And having been exposed to the wide variety, and seen the results of the various styles of parenting, I hope and pray that I don't fall into the same traps... and that I will train my children when they are still pliable and mouldable, before they turn into sullen grumpy hormone raged teenagers who in trying to find themselves resist anything and everything from their fuddy duddy parents who most certainly are not clued into anything that's current or hip, and I wring my hands in despair that I didn't train them in the way they should go when they were young.
I shall get off my soap box now.
So all this got me thinking... do young parents nowadays really put less emphasis on good manners? Do they really not care that they are bringing up uncouth youth who don't know what is acceptable and what is not?
Really, the culture of the world now is such that parents are expected to plead with their children and say please and thank you and all... I mean, yes, I'm all for setting a good example, but just today, at the kindergarten carpark, I saw a parent, on her knees (because she was talking to her 6yo child, so I assume she wanted to be at eye level... but since her standing child was taller than her in a kneeling position, it looked weird) begging... yes, begging, the child to get into the car. I mean, what's with that???? I mean, if I tell you to get in the car, you jolly well get in the car... because I say so! I am the parent, and if we're in the middle of a car park, blocking the way of others, in full view of everyone, when I say get in, you jolly well scoot really fast and get your butt into your seat! What's there to beg???? Ridiculous!
Yes, it's nice to use manners and not shout and yell and rant at children, and I'm certainly for not putting them down with insults and belittlement... but begging?!
I have seen oh, a gagillion parents with tantrum throwing not so young children whining and demanding their way... and the parent will sigh and shake their head, and weakly protest, trying to find a spot to put a toe down... but in the end, the child wins, because the parent is afraid of the child making a scene, of because the parent is too tired to fight the child, or because the parent is afraid of the child crying or whatever... and then, after they give in, they start to rant at the now deliriously happy / smug / satisfied child that the said child is naughty / stubborn etc and ask "why you don't listen?! you are so naughty!" and I'm thinking... well, you just made her a little naughtier, a little more stubborn by giving in... and the next time, she's gonna remember that she won this round, and she will persist all the more... because she knows you can be worn down!!! And so yes, we create our own monsters... by trying most ineffectively to put a toe down so gingerly, instead of just putting our foot down so that our charges know we mean business.
Yes, some children are more strong headed than others. Yes, some children are more stubborn than others. But well, excuse me, you just have to be more strong headed and stubborn than they are!!! Isn't that just common sense? Persistence and Consistency... that's all one needs... but unfortunately, many parents these days don't have it.... that and common sense. That's a misnomer, because apparently, it's awfully uncommon these days.
Shannon's teacher told me tales of how children broke her things, and it was the parent who apologised while the children ran away to hide. In the end, she had to elicit the apologies from the children, besides telling the mother involved that she should really teach her children to apologise instead of apologising for them... because it wasn't teaching them anything other than that she would bail them out whenever they did wrong... and it's this kind of parenting that also breeds the type that will beat up bus drivers and then expect to be bailed out by a father who pleads for the grown child by going on his knees and begging for the child to be forgiven. Sheesh!
Children don't come with built-in manners. They don't come with built-in anything, except for the built-in knowledge of sin and being naughty. It's the fallen nature. Nobody has to teach a child how to be naughty. That it learns all by itself. But teaching a child to be good and to have manners and concern for others, to know how to respond to people and how to do something as simple as greeting and elder when coming and going... that's all basic stuff. Yet, I find that many forget to teach such stuff. If you don't teach it to a child when young, when he is grown, he will not bother with it because to him, a life lacking in manners is the way to go.
I've had visitors come to my house... children, who play and make a collosal mess, who then just turn around once they are done and leave. Not thought to clean up after themselves, nothing. Unfortunately for them, I am one person who will not mince my words... and good manners stop short at the lack of common courtesy. So I have been known to tell my little visitors to pick up after themselves, and to mind their Ps and Qs. I've also been known to scold little visitors for opening a closed door and having a trampoline session on my bed... all uninvited. Do their parents really not teach them that when you are at someone else's home, you never open a closed door unless you have asked first? Or that you never jump on beds or couches or anything for that matter? I'm completely befuddled by such nonsense.
But then again, I know of adults who do the same. They come, they make and leave a colossal mess behind them, and they just turn and go off, assuming that the place magically cleans itself, or that it is the duty of someone faceless to do it... and so off they go... no wonder they bring up kids who think the same.
Could it be the prevalence of domestic helpers in our society? Such that our children are so used to being waited on hand and foot that they take it that everyone else is also around just to serve them? I don't have domestic help. I wouldn't know. But I would certainly hope that if I did have a helper, I would train my children still to pick up after themselves, and to train my helper NOT to do everything for them... for they have hands and legs and are perfectly capable of getting a drink for themselves, or putting on their own clothes and tying their own shoes... but since I haven't got a helper.. it's all moot...
sigh... as an ex-teacher, I have seen too many different kinds of parents. And having been exposed to the wide variety, and seen the results of the various styles of parenting, I hope and pray that I don't fall into the same traps... and that I will train my children when they are still pliable and mouldable, before they turn into sullen grumpy hormone raged teenagers who in trying to find themselves resist anything and everything from their fuddy duddy parents who most certainly are not clued into anything that's current or hip, and I wring my hands in despair that I didn't train them in the way they should go when they were young.
I shall get off my soap box now.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
My Life these days...
Life is going along quite well... albeit rather busily. I've got quite a lot on my plate these days... and it looks set to be quite busy for a while.
But I'm a SAHM... what have I got to be so busy about? (You'll be surprised how many non-SAHMs ask me this... and I just know all the SAHMs are just dying to knock them on their heads for asking it...) well... let me enlighten you...
I don't officially have working hours, a salary or lunch-hour, but my day begins at 5.30 in the morning... the sun has not even woken up yet.
My days mostly revolve around the children, hence the early mornings. Zach is up at 5.40am, fed, dressed and packed off to school on a bus at 6.10am. After Quiet Time or more snoozing, 7am sees the next batch of little mouths fed, little faces washed, littles bodies dressed in uniforms, and the girls are packed off to school.
Mornings (with all at school) are spent picking up things around the house and doing little chores and preparing lunch for the kiddos. Wednesdays are fellowship times with my lady friends - we meet to chat, eat, pray... and in future, we are planning for bible study during that time too. Fridays are times to bond with Shannon, for she has violin later in the afternoon, and so tags along with me in the mornings while waiting for Stace to finish school.
Once the kids are home, it's lunch then work. School homework, projects, enrichment homework, practising on the piano, violin... preparing for spelling tests and exams... it's non-stop.
Evening brings with it enrichment lessons and travelling to nearby estates for them.
I'm also involved in Stacey's Kindergarten's Board, as well as the huge concert being put up at the end of the year by Stacey's Ballet School, both of which means there are meetings to attend. I've also recently started an informal little thing where I maintain a website of items I am selling off cheap - 2nd-hand stuff I'm trying to clear. This includes toys, books, clothes, shoes etc etc etc. And lots of baby stuff. It's been about a month and it's not too bad... sales are slowing down, but there are still lots of enquiries to field, and emails and coordination to be made. Heh.
So yes, I'm not exactly free. I wish I was sometimes... but nah... I wouldn't go back to working, because I love what I'm doing. Sure, there are days when I feel like tearing my hair out, but when I look at the big picture... it's definitely all worth it... the being busier, then being with the children all day, everything.
Oh! And I'm so happy.... I've managed to meet my goal of 21 days consecutive QT!!!! It's been 23 days already... by the grace of God, I've managed to sustain it... and I'm hoping now to hit a whole month!!!! Woohoo!!!
But I'm a SAHM... what have I got to be so busy about? (You'll be surprised how many non-SAHMs ask me this... and I just know all the SAHMs are just dying to knock them on their heads for asking it...) well... let me enlighten you...
I don't officially have working hours, a salary or lunch-hour, but my day begins at 5.30 in the morning... the sun has not even woken up yet.
My days mostly revolve around the children, hence the early mornings. Zach is up at 5.40am, fed, dressed and packed off to school on a bus at 6.10am. After Quiet Time or more snoozing, 7am sees the next batch of little mouths fed, little faces washed, littles bodies dressed in uniforms, and the girls are packed off to school.
Mornings (with all at school) are spent picking up things around the house and doing little chores and preparing lunch for the kiddos. Wednesdays are fellowship times with my lady friends - we meet to chat, eat, pray... and in future, we are planning for bible study during that time too. Fridays are times to bond with Shannon, for she has violin later in the afternoon, and so tags along with me in the mornings while waiting for Stace to finish school.
Once the kids are home, it's lunch then work. School homework, projects, enrichment homework, practising on the piano, violin... preparing for spelling tests and exams... it's non-stop.
Evening brings with it enrichment lessons and travelling to nearby estates for them.
I'm also involved in Stacey's Kindergarten's Board, as well as the huge concert being put up at the end of the year by Stacey's Ballet School, both of which means there are meetings to attend. I've also recently started an informal little thing where I maintain a website of items I am selling off cheap - 2nd-hand stuff I'm trying to clear. This includes toys, books, clothes, shoes etc etc etc. And lots of baby stuff. It's been about a month and it's not too bad... sales are slowing down, but there are still lots of enquiries to field, and emails and coordination to be made. Heh.
So yes, I'm not exactly free. I wish I was sometimes... but nah... I wouldn't go back to working, because I love what I'm doing. Sure, there are days when I feel like tearing my hair out, but when I look at the big picture... it's definitely all worth it... the being busier, then being with the children all day, everything.
Oh! And I'm so happy.... I've managed to meet my goal of 21 days consecutive QT!!!! It's been 23 days already... by the grace of God, I've managed to sustain it... and I'm hoping now to hit a whole month!!!! Woohoo!!!
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Violin Update
Had her lesson yesterday.... much much better... she focused better and worked hard at her bowing.
She would keep changing her bow hold each time she couldn't get her note right, and she would keep holidng it in a death grip, when she's supposed to hold it sorta loosely so that the violin doesn't "cry" instead of "sing" (that's what I resorted to telling her... LOL)
But she managed to do a pretty clean AAAA AA by the end of the lesson, as opposed to her playing two strings at a go. Her left hand is also getting pretty good, even though she forgets sometimes and will let her palm touch the violin (she's supposed to hold her palm away from the violin neck... )
So we've got to get her to practice playing the AAAA AA EEEE EE in succession, and then get her to bow the 3333 33, 2222 22 and 1111 11... those represent notes on the violin, with the numbers being the fingers that are pressing on the string. Quite interesting, but a little abstract I think for a not yet 3yo... but still, she's constantly surprising me with how much she can learn how quickly... so I'll not underestimate her yet.
Go Shannon Go!
Oh, and a really preciously funny moment? She was so focused getting her notes right that at the end of the 3333 33, 2222 22 and 1111 11, she actually heaved a sigh... it was so funny to watch a 2yo sigh so deeply from the hard work she was putting in and being so focused and not moving one bit.
Sweet Sweet Shannon.
She would keep changing her bow hold each time she couldn't get her note right, and she would keep holidng it in a death grip, when she's supposed to hold it sorta loosely so that the violin doesn't "cry" instead of "sing" (that's what I resorted to telling her... LOL)
But she managed to do a pretty clean AAAA AA by the end of the lesson, as opposed to her playing two strings at a go. Her left hand is also getting pretty good, even though she forgets sometimes and will let her palm touch the violin (she's supposed to hold her palm away from the violin neck... )
So we've got to get her to practice playing the AAAA AA EEEE EE in succession, and then get her to bow the 3333 33, 2222 22 and 1111 11... those represent notes on the violin, with the numbers being the fingers that are pressing on the string. Quite interesting, but a little abstract I think for a not yet 3yo... but still, she's constantly surprising me with how much she can learn how quickly... so I'll not underestimate her yet.
Go Shannon Go!
Oh, and a really preciously funny moment? She was so focused getting her notes right that at the end of the 3333 33, 2222 22 and 1111 11, she actually heaved a sigh... it was so funny to watch a 2yo sigh so deeply from the hard work she was putting in and being so focused and not moving one bit.
Sweet Sweet Shannon.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Excited....
We've been staying in this house for the last 8 years and a little tiny bit... we moved in on 5th June 1999... I remember the date exactly because that was the day we got married. And the first night was spent in a room with no curtains... no furnishing... nothing... except a bed, its bedding and a shower curtain. Haha.
Our house was not completely done when we "moved in"... but that was OK, because the very next day, we "moved in" into a hotel room, where we stayed for two nights, following which we repacked our bags for a two week honeymoon in New Zealand... during which time the carpenters came in and did their job and our house was furnished (although it was the minimal) when we came back home.
When we first moved into the house (with its furnishings), we had a bed, built in wardrobe for our master bedroom, a sofa set with coffee table and side table, a TV, a small sofabed which he got from his parents, and I think a spare bed which I took from my parents. A foldable table which was our dining table, and stools for dining table chairs. The kitchen was the most complete, with fridge, washing machine, stove and sink, as well as built in cabinets. The cutlery and utensils that we had were all "permanently borrowed" from both sets of parents, and we have been adding on to the house in bits and pieces over the years... mostly from IKEA. The DIY kind of furniture. We've also accumulated a lot of junk these 8 years, plus junk belonging to the 3 children, who have amassed enough toys to keep probably an orphanage full of children occupied for a year... (I exaggerate... it's probably only sufficient for 9 months).
Now, life in our household is changing. It used to be sufficient, because the children were still tiny. And we were mostly not in our house. We only came home to sleep, and had most of our meals at either my ILs' house or my parents' house or outside. Now that I'm a SAHM, it means that the house is occupied for the better part of the day, and the kitchen is no longer just for making milk... I actually cook in it... that is if you can call what I do with raw food "cooking"... sort of.
So we're sort of outgrowing what the house has become. The children need study spaces, and spaces for their school stuff. They also need a proper wardrobe - all their clothes are now either on my sofa, or hanging on a rail, or stuffed into two drawer totes... and because they are getting bigger, so are their clothes. And now that I will be having two primary schoolers in a few months', I have to keep track of 3 sets of school uniforms, 2 sets of which I have to iron and keep looking decent (from this statement you can tell that the youngest goes to school in clothes that are not ironed... heh)... and the 3 sets of school uniforms are not just of one type... there are formal uniforms, then there is the PE attire as well to contend with. So that's 6 different types of uniform to keep track of... not to mention the ballet attire belonging to Stacey.
After many months of deliberating and hmm-ing and haw-ing... we've finally decided to actually contact the designer my friend recommended to me something like last year... haha. And the designer came with his partner last week... on Thursday... and we had a good discussion on what we wanted done... (storage!!!!!!!!) and I'm so excited about seeing his plans.
It will mean a big investment into the renovation costs... but I think it is due. It's that or buy a new house... and with the property market skyrocketing into outer space and definitely not within our reach, we have to settle of just a makeover of the present house.
Thanks to watching Extreme Makeover: The Home Edition with the children many times, they thought that our house was going to be pulled down (aka demolished) and rebuilt, ala EM style... but they don't realise in their naivete that our house is actually connected to the house above... and below, and on our right and left... LOL. But yes, we really need to do something about it.
Now the question is... where are we going to put up while we are renovating the house? The designer estimates that it will take about two months to get the house done, if we move out and let them just do their work in peace. Keeping in mind examinations and settling into new schools and ballet concerts and all that sort of thing, we have to find a time to move out and in that is not too unsettling for the kids... as well as a season where I will have time before and after to pack and unpack our 8 years of junk... so we're probably looking at sometime early next year, after I'm done with Stacey's bigtime concert in Dec, and avoiding Christmas season, but trying to get things done before all the examinations begin in May for Zach. We'd probably be better off avoiding the early part of January, because Stacey would be settling down in Primary 1, while Shannon starts at a new school for her Nursery 2... and moving during Chinese New year period is probably not the best either... so maybe after chinese new year period for 2 months... that should bring us to mid-April, so that we can move back in and settle down in time for Zach's mid-year examinations. Wow...
Ah well... we'll cross that bridge when we come to it... right now, we're still in the baby stages of the whole thing... so it will be a while yet before we have to make a decision... on when first, then where... see how lah.
Our house was not completely done when we "moved in"... but that was OK, because the very next day, we "moved in" into a hotel room, where we stayed for two nights, following which we repacked our bags for a two week honeymoon in New Zealand... during which time the carpenters came in and did their job and our house was furnished (although it was the minimal) when we came back home.
When we first moved into the house (with its furnishings), we had a bed, built in wardrobe for our master bedroom, a sofa set with coffee table and side table, a TV, a small sofabed which he got from his parents, and I think a spare bed which I took from my parents. A foldable table which was our dining table, and stools for dining table chairs. The kitchen was the most complete, with fridge, washing machine, stove and sink, as well as built in cabinets. The cutlery and utensils that we had were all "permanently borrowed" from both sets of parents, and we have been adding on to the house in bits and pieces over the years... mostly from IKEA. The DIY kind of furniture. We've also accumulated a lot of junk these 8 years, plus junk belonging to the 3 children, who have amassed enough toys to keep probably an orphanage full of children occupied for a year... (I exaggerate... it's probably only sufficient for 9 months).
Now, life in our household is changing. It used to be sufficient, because the children were still tiny. And we were mostly not in our house. We only came home to sleep, and had most of our meals at either my ILs' house or my parents' house or outside. Now that I'm a SAHM, it means that the house is occupied for the better part of the day, and the kitchen is no longer just for making milk... I actually cook in it... that is if you can call what I do with raw food "cooking"... sort of.
So we're sort of outgrowing what the house has become. The children need study spaces, and spaces for their school stuff. They also need a proper wardrobe - all their clothes are now either on my sofa, or hanging on a rail, or stuffed into two drawer totes... and because they are getting bigger, so are their clothes. And now that I will be having two primary schoolers in a few months', I have to keep track of 3 sets of school uniforms, 2 sets of which I have to iron and keep looking decent (from this statement you can tell that the youngest goes to school in clothes that are not ironed... heh)... and the 3 sets of school uniforms are not just of one type... there are formal uniforms, then there is the PE attire as well to contend with. So that's 6 different types of uniform to keep track of... not to mention the ballet attire belonging to Stacey.
After many months of deliberating and hmm-ing and haw-ing... we've finally decided to actually contact the designer my friend recommended to me something like last year... haha. And the designer came with his partner last week... on Thursday... and we had a good discussion on what we wanted done... (storage!!!!!!!!) and I'm so excited about seeing his plans.
It will mean a big investment into the renovation costs... but I think it is due. It's that or buy a new house... and with the property market skyrocketing into outer space and definitely not within our reach, we have to settle of just a makeover of the present house.
Thanks to watching Extreme Makeover: The Home Edition with the children many times, they thought that our house was going to be pulled down (aka demolished) and rebuilt, ala EM style... but they don't realise in their naivete that our house is actually connected to the house above... and below, and on our right and left... LOL. But yes, we really need to do something about it.
Now the question is... where are we going to put up while we are renovating the house? The designer estimates that it will take about two months to get the house done, if we move out and let them just do their work in peace. Keeping in mind examinations and settling into new schools and ballet concerts and all that sort of thing, we have to find a time to move out and in that is not too unsettling for the kids... as well as a season where I will have time before and after to pack and unpack our 8 years of junk... so we're probably looking at sometime early next year, after I'm done with Stacey's bigtime concert in Dec, and avoiding Christmas season, but trying to get things done before all the examinations begin in May for Zach. We'd probably be better off avoiding the early part of January, because Stacey would be settling down in Primary 1, while Shannon starts at a new school for her Nursery 2... and moving during Chinese New year period is probably not the best either... so maybe after chinese new year period for 2 months... that should bring us to mid-April, so that we can move back in and settle down in time for Zach's mid-year examinations. Wow...
Ah well... we'll cross that bridge when we come to it... right now, we're still in the baby stages of the whole thing... so it will be a while yet before we have to make a decision... on when first, then where... see how lah.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Violin Lesson again
The bow hold today was better. I don't know what it is about being at violin class... she suddenly turns into this fidgety thing who can't stand or sit still... and she will spin and turn and sit and move and basically be all over the place.
And the weird thing is that she isn't like that when we practice at home... a little, but not quite to that degree.
In any case, the little sessions of practising does seem to help, because by the time she gets to class, she has amazingly improved and is able to do the things she struggled with at home. Haha.
So today, we worked on playing A1, A2 and A3, besides getting her to hold her bow more loosely (the teacher tells her that she is killing her bow by gripping it so tightly... so funny). And I think the teacher found a wonderful way to motivate her... by bribing her with sweets... something which she says works very well with the children... I wonder why... LOL.
Nonetheless, she was telling me how she finds Shannon very mature for her age (of 2y9m), and how she doesn't behave like a 2+yo kid... LOL. She was also suitably impressed that Shannon could press the strings with her fingers, and how Shannon didn't insist on eating the sweet after she had gotten it from the teacher... LOL.
And the weird thing is that she isn't like that when we practice at home... a little, but not quite to that degree.
In any case, the little sessions of practising does seem to help, because by the time she gets to class, she has amazingly improved and is able to do the things she struggled with at home. Haha.
So today, we worked on playing A1, A2 and A3, besides getting her to hold her bow more loosely (the teacher tells her that she is killing her bow by gripping it so tightly... so funny). And I think the teacher found a wonderful way to motivate her... by bribing her with sweets... something which she says works very well with the children... I wonder why... LOL.
Nonetheless, she was telling me how she finds Shannon very mature for her age (of 2y9m), and how she doesn't behave like a 2+yo kid... LOL. She was also suitably impressed that Shannon could press the strings with her fingers, and how Shannon didn't insist on eating the sweet after she had gotten it from the teacher... LOL.
The baby prays...
Shannon is having some kind of eye irritation. I pray it isn't conjunctivitis.
Tonight, the dear little girl prayed this prayer...
"Dear Jesus, my eye is pain. Please make my eye nice again. Thank you Jesus. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Tonight, the dear little girl prayed this prayer...
"Dear Jesus, my eye is pain. Please make my eye nice again. Thank you Jesus. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
A certain young lady
Met a certain young lady today... and ex-pupil. She's currently still a student, but apparently has been playing truant despite the fact that it's her 'N' Level year... her excuse? She's been too sleepy and unable to wake up in time for school... "just like (her brother)"... whom I taught as well, incidentally.
She asked after me, and wondered why I had not been in school for such a long time. She was surprised to hear that I had quit to look after the children. She declared that I couldn't quit, because "you were one of our best teachers!!! (insert suitably long whine here)". Gee, thanks, now if only she had shown such appreciation then, and had altered her behaviour to reflect how much she actually loved me, I might have felt a little less stressed and demoralised and yada yada... LOL.
She and her brother contributed significantly to my white hair population, I must say... they, in themselves, are not bad kids. They are not hardcore criminalised misguided youth... they are just... well.. lazy. And lacking in the home support all teenagers need. And so they make the wrong choices over and over again... choosing immediate gratification over investment of effort into their future... choosing fun now over results later... ah well. They were often found in the discipline master's office, the principal's office.. and even now, she is constantly not where she is supposed to be - in school. Her brother, a young man who, if he diligently applied himself, could easily qualify and stay in the express stream, ended up in the normal technical stream.. and is now in ITE, if he managed to stay in school that long (and I don't mean that in a demeaning way... it's just that he's sorta... well... allergic to school and structure). The young lady too, is a bright young lady who could be capable of so much more.. if only she would apply herself and choose to over come difficulties with perseverance. Now she has to over come many many hurdles like bad habits and the "fun" of just having fun all the time just to achieve results that could have come easy-peasy if she had the right kind of encouragement, support and motivation.
Sigh. In any case, I'm just glad that I am now at home, stressing over my children and their futures, over which I have a great deal more control, then over other people's children and their futures, over which I have very limited control, and yet am expected to perform miracles for.
She asked after me, and wondered why I had not been in school for such a long time. She was surprised to hear that I had quit to look after the children. She declared that I couldn't quit, because "you were one of our best teachers!!! (insert suitably long whine here)". Gee, thanks, now if only she had shown such appreciation then, and had altered her behaviour to reflect how much she actually loved me, I might have felt a little less stressed and demoralised and yada yada... LOL.
She and her brother contributed significantly to my white hair population, I must say... they, in themselves, are not bad kids. They are not hardcore criminalised misguided youth... they are just... well.. lazy. And lacking in the home support all teenagers need. And so they make the wrong choices over and over again... choosing immediate gratification over investment of effort into their future... choosing fun now over results later... ah well. They were often found in the discipline master's office, the principal's office.. and even now, she is constantly not where she is supposed to be - in school. Her brother, a young man who, if he diligently applied himself, could easily qualify and stay in the express stream, ended up in the normal technical stream.. and is now in ITE, if he managed to stay in school that long (and I don't mean that in a demeaning way... it's just that he's sorta... well... allergic to school and structure). The young lady too, is a bright young lady who could be capable of so much more.. if only she would apply herself and choose to over come difficulties with perseverance. Now she has to over come many many hurdles like bad habits and the "fun" of just having fun all the time just to achieve results that could have come easy-peasy if she had the right kind of encouragement, support and motivation.
Sigh. In any case, I'm just glad that I am now at home, stressing over my children and their futures, over which I have a great deal more control, then over other people's children and their futures, over which I have very limited control, and yet am expected to perform miracles for.
By the Grace of God...
My cell group and I are doing this Masterlife series of bible studies about discipleship... and it's a most excellent series... it's structured and comes with workbooks (yay!!) and I can just follow and still have an in-depth study of the word... so I've been doing it for Quiet Time since we started.
We started on the first book last term (you know you are a die hard teacher when you can't stop thinking of the calendar year in school terms... LOL) and quiet time was getting to be quite consistent... and I was most pleased... I managed to do my QT every weekday morning... but my fall came during the school holidays when the daily routines went topsy turvy... and there went my rather regular QT....
And there it hung, stuck like a hung computer... until I finally resolved to get back on track again... so now, I'm pleased to announce that by the grace of God, I have managed to have 10 days of QT... in a row... weekends included!!!
For me, for whom having QT everyday has always been a major struggle, this is wonderful... and I feel refreshed... and encouraged... and I pray that this will keep going... My goal right now is a challenge set by the discipleship series... to do QT for 21 consecutive days... (that the discipleship series would have such a challenge and call it that tells me that most of us mere mortals struggle with it... and that alone makes me feel better... haha) and I'm almost halfway there.... woohoo!!!
Dear God, I know you and you alone have given me the grace to be able to get to Day 10... I pray that you help me get to Day 21 and beyond.... Glory be to You!!!
We started on the first book last term (you know you are a die hard teacher when you can't stop thinking of the calendar year in school terms... LOL) and quiet time was getting to be quite consistent... and I was most pleased... I managed to do my QT every weekday morning... but my fall came during the school holidays when the daily routines went topsy turvy... and there went my rather regular QT....
And there it hung, stuck like a hung computer... until I finally resolved to get back on track again... so now, I'm pleased to announce that by the grace of God, I have managed to have 10 days of QT... in a row... weekends included!!!
For me, for whom having QT everyday has always been a major struggle, this is wonderful... and I feel refreshed... and encouraged... and I pray that this will keep going... My goal right now is a challenge set by the discipleship series... to do QT for 21 consecutive days... (that the discipleship series would have such a challenge and call it that tells me that most of us mere mortals struggle with it... and that alone makes me feel better... haha) and I'm almost halfway there.... woohoo!!!
Dear God, I know you and you alone have given me the grace to be able to get to Day 10... I pray that you help me get to Day 21 and beyond.... Glory be to You!!!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Double Jointed Source
My mum was asking me about Shannon's progress in violin today... and she mentioned the double jointed thing, thinking that because of it, Shannon could not go on with her learning.
So it turns out that the double jointed thing was probably inherited from my mom, because her left thumb is double jointed (and in a related note, her jaw is loose... meaning it'll get stuck if she opens her mouth too widely...), but her right one isn't. Both my thumbs are double jointed... and I think both of Shannon's are too. Interesting.
Shannon's doing quite well despite being double jointed. In her last violin lesson, she managed to hold her violin correctly, holding her palm well away from the neck of the violin. She still struggles with the bow hold though, something which I struggle with too... and the worst thing is that I don't know how to correct her... so it seems to be getting worse. Argh.
The violin teacher says she's pretty strong though, and can press her strings well... so that's another surprising thing about her, given that she is only 2yrs and 9mths old. Now, if only we can get her to hold her bow correctly. Sigh.
So it turns out that the double jointed thing was probably inherited from my mom, because her left thumb is double jointed (and in a related note, her jaw is loose... meaning it'll get stuck if she opens her mouth too widely...), but her right one isn't. Both my thumbs are double jointed... and I think both of Shannon's are too. Interesting.
Shannon's doing quite well despite being double jointed. In her last violin lesson, she managed to hold her violin correctly, holding her palm well away from the neck of the violin. She still struggles with the bow hold though, something which I struggle with too... and the worst thing is that I don't know how to correct her... so it seems to be getting worse. Argh.
The violin teacher says she's pretty strong though, and can press her strings well... so that's another surprising thing about her, given that she is only 2yrs and 9mths old. Now, if only we can get her to hold her bow correctly. Sigh.
Shannon's Violin Grip
Shannon on the violin
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Shoutout to my RL friend...
Today, while at my usual prayer meeting with FF and IO, I met LL... a long time friend from long long ago, way back when I was still a naive hostelite in University... LOL.
I saw her, and I recognised her (meaning I knew her)... but my mummified swiss cheese brain just simply couldn't recall her name, nor where I knew her from. She looked very familiar, she sounded very familiar, and I knew that at one point in my life, I knew her very well... but it's been a good decade since... and my brains failed me.
Alas, whilst giving her my email addy, I had to 'fess up and tell her that I knew neither her name nor where I knew her from... poor thing. And the worst thing was... she knew my name!!!!! LOL.
Dear, dear LL... I'm so sorry... but 3 pregnancies and the brood I have does that to me... but I am glad to say that, now that a whole afternoon has passed, I remember who you are... and I actually have fond memories stirred up... from long long ago.
Your little one is sooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute... do write soon... and we need to catch up!!!
Write soon!!!
I saw her, and I recognised her (meaning I knew her)... but my mummified swiss cheese brain just simply couldn't recall her name, nor where I knew her from. She looked very familiar, she sounded very familiar, and I knew that at one point in my life, I knew her very well... but it's been a good decade since... and my brains failed me.
Alas, whilst giving her my email addy, I had to 'fess up and tell her that I knew neither her name nor where I knew her from... poor thing. And the worst thing was... she knew my name!!!!! LOL.
Dear, dear LL... I'm so sorry... but 3 pregnancies and the brood I have does that to me... but I am glad to say that, now that a whole afternoon has passed, I remember who you are... and I actually have fond memories stirred up... from long long ago.
Your little one is sooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute... do write soon... and we need to catch up!!!
Write soon!!!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Zach's National Day Song
Zachary showing off his singing... he gets shy midway, and isn't as loud, but gets encouraged again, then shows some potential... his voice is quite resonant... not bad...
Stacey Swims an entire breadth
Stacey manages to swim the entire breadth after having learnt to come up for air.
Stacey Swimming
This was when Stacey learnt to swim, but had not learnt to incorporate coming up for air yet.
Eek and Me
Face painting
Birthday Celebration 4
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